In one of the biggest equity-equivalent deals seen in South Africa to date, Microsoft is to invest almost half-a-billion rand in the local software industry over the next seven years as part of the company's broad-based black economic empowerment (BEE) programme.

The deal, announced by Microsoft South Africa MD Mteto Nyati and Deputy Trade and Industry Minister Maria Ntuli in Sandton this week, will see the multinational software giant spending R472-million to help small, black-owned software development companies to grow into global businesses by 2017.

Participants will be chosen from responses to a nationwide request for proposals, slated for issue in early May, and it is expected that between five and 10 companies will be part of the initial programme.
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