ICT group Yekani Manufacturing on Tuesday unveiled its R1 billion factory in East London Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) that it says will create 1,000 jobs.

The new facility covers 28,000 square metres and will manufacture electronic products.

Funding for the project was received from various stakeholders that included the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI), and private financial institutions, while a significant portion of this came from Yekani’s coffers, the group said.

“Our Technologically advanced facility is geared to manufacturing innovative technology products for clients in the Automotive, Defence, Aerospace/Aviation industries as well as consumers,” said Dr Siphiwe Cele, Yekani Group CEO.

Yekani’s portfolio of product categories ranges from education 2-in-1 tablets and laptops to consumer products, such as mobile handsets and laptops.

One of the most pressing challenges facing South Africa today is the quality of education. Yekani Technology, with the help of its sister company Yekani Manufacturing, manufactures and supplies devices purpose built for education, aimed at enhancing the 21st century classroom experience for both teachers and students, with the goal of improving the standard of education throughout South Africa.

“Two years ago, the Department of Education in Gauteng introduced a five-year e-learning paperless classroom initiative in township schools and those with 100 percent pass rate in last year’s matric finals received brand new tablets. The Department of Education in Gauteng led by the MEC of Education, Panyaza Lesufi entered into a partnership with one of Yekani’s local resellers to provide these tablets to the selected township-based schools.

“As Yekani, we are happy to have played our part in this education initiative – a project aimed at improving learning for students by providing digital textbooks and past papers,” said Cele.

This article was sourced from Businesstech.co.za