SITA Increases Procurement Spending with South African SMMEs

SITA is developing a structured SMME training and supplier engagement model. (Image source: iStock) The State Information Technology Agency (SITA) has recorded an increase in the amount spent on procurement from small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs), in the first four months of the 2026/27 financial year. SITA sits as a central pillar of government’s IT procurement. It advises and procures ICT services on behalf of government departments and public bodies at national and provincial level , counting the South African Police Service and Department of Defence among its key clients. The government IT procurement arm says it spent R183 million on procurement from SMMEs for the period 1 April to 31 July, recording 49% of its available procurement spend with SMMEs and designated groups, against an annual target of 45%. SITA classifies designated groups as black-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, youth-owned businesses and enterprises owned by persons with disabilities. Total supplier spend for the period was R1.6 billion, of which R601 million was available spend, it notes. SMME procurement spend within the period amounted to R183 million, made up of R174 million in direct spend and R9.4 million channelled indirectly through SITA’s supply chain. Additionally, spend with black-owned businesses reached R287 million during the period, including R87 million with black women-owned enterprises. “Procurement is the most immediate lever a state agency has to change who participates in the economy,” says SITA head of corporate affairs Tlali Tlali. “Every contract SITA awards is a decision about who gets to help build South Africa’s digital infrastructure, and we are deliberate about widening that circle. Being ahead of target four months into the year matters. The more important question is whether the businesses we bring in are still standing in three years’ time.” SMMEs are often cited as the economy’s biggest employer, with 13.43 million people reportedly employed full-time, part-time and as seasonal workers. South Africa’s government has also long identified SMMEs as a catalyst for the country’s economic growth, job creation, entrepreneurial opportunities and investment. With estimates placing the contribution of South Africa’s SMME sector to gross domestic product between 34% and 40%, there has been emphasis on creating an enabling environment for these businesses to succeed. This, as local SMMEs have often decried the conditions of operating a business, highlighting struggles such as payment delays, red tape and regulatory compliance , complexity and irregular procurement practices. SITA’s head office in Erasmuskloof, Pretoria. (Photograph by Lesley Moyo) According to SITA, it’s also expanding its enterprise supplier development programme to address a persistent gap: SMMEs that secure work but lack the systems, capacity or working capital to deliver at scale and grow beyond a single contract. As a result, the agency is developing a structured SMME training and supplier engagement model to support enterprises already in, or entering, its supply chain, in line with its B-BBEE enterprise and supplier development objectives. Furthermore, SITA is building a skills pipeline into the ICT sector, it states. Training unemployed youth, MICT SETA internships, a learnership delivered in partnership with eDeaf for Deaf young people, an Esri South Africa bursary and participation in the Youth Employment Service programme are among its skills development initiatives. Overall, the initiatives have supported 40 young people at an investment of R498 000, with further intakes planned during the financial year, notes SITA. “We want to move beyond a model where supplier development is treated as a compliance requirement,” states Tlali. “Our objective is a stronger, more diverse and more sustainable ICT supplier ecosystem. That means creating opportunities, but it also means helping businesses build the capability to take up those opportunities