Customers were able to book containers that were not actually available. At the same time, the company lacked a real-time view of operations. Real-world lessons in digital transformation often start here, with fragmentation and inefficiency.

In the agricultural sector, we integrated data from 15 different systems into a single cohesive platform. What began as paper-based interactions with relationship managers driving to farms has now evolved. Today, it’s a powerful 24/7 self-service platform. This transformation has drastically improved customer experience. It has also reduced administrative overhead and created a single, unified view of each customer.

For our financial services clients, we have tackled complex regulatory requirements while modernising legacy systems. Banks face unique challenges as they try to balance innovation with compliance. We have helped them create secure, integrated platforms that meet strict regulatory standards while still enabling new digital services.

Key insights from our experience

Throughout these projects, we’ve gained insights that apply across many sectors. One critical lesson is this: syncing systems is essential for any successful transformation. Companies often try to solve integration challenges with pre-made Application Programming Interface (API) products. This usually leads to high licensing costs and systems that fall short of expectations.

There are pros and cons when deciding whether to buy or build. In our experience, whether with financial services or supply chain companies, custom solutions are often the best option when working with complex systems or legacy infrastructure. Real-world lessons in digital transformation show that tailored architecture delivers deeper value.

We have seen how a customised central API can connect all systems and present data in one unified digital platform. Once this foundation is in place, businesses can easily add new digital channels. These could include mobile apps, voice assistants or even VR tools, all without rebuilding the core systems.

What excites me most is the potential each business holds. Disconnected systems should never be the reason that potential goes unrealised.

Making digital transformation real

When we begin any digital transformation journey, we always focus on creating a clear roadmap before implementation. We start by helping the company define where it wants to go. Then, we work together to map out how to get there.

The magic we bring lies in guiding that journey and walking it alongside the client. While it’s tempting to jump straight into shiny new technologies, doing so can lead to wasted time and resources. Therefore, a reliable digital partner should begin by assessing a business’s current level of complexity and maturity. This understanding will dictate the most effective next steps in digitalisation.

This methodical approach ensures real, sustainable progress. It’s like signing up for an ocean marathon before learning how to swim in a pool. You need foundational skills before chasing the end-state magic. Real-world lessons in digital transformation always highlight the importance of this staged, thoughtful progression.

The processes usually follows these steps:

• Assessment of business needs and current systems.
• Cloud enablement and infrastructure setup.
• System integration and modernisation.
• Targeted AI implementation where it offers real value.
• Knowledge transfer and team upskilling.

The true business value of the cloud goes far beyond just moving data. It lies in the ability to innovate rapidly and build digital products that can reach customers at a global scale.

In conclusion

As Mark Twain once said, “The secret to getting ahead is getting started”. For businesses, meaningful digital transformation is not about slide decks or agenda points. It is about having a clear vision, a well-planned roadmap, and an integrated environment that turns digital transformation into reality.

One piece of advice I always share is to choose a partner who is willing to transfer knowledge and empower your team. When we hire, we do not just look for strong technical skills. We look for people who can teach those skills to others. That’s how we ensure your success continues long after our work is done.

The post Real-world lessons in digital transformation – going beyond theory appeared first on Synthesis.

Through my work deploying AI systems in production-grade enterprise environments both internationally and across the African continent, I’ve learned that successful implementations require local expertise who understand resource constraints as design parameters. While global best practices from established markets provide valuable frameworks, local talent creates the innovations that make technology truly work under real-world conditions.

As Stanford’s Fei-Fei Li, co-director of the Human-Centered AI Institute, emphasizes: “The idea is to recognize that AI technology is very important and will be affecting human lives and society. There are also a lot of unknowns still to be explored in AI. How do we put guardrails around AI? How do we develop tomorrow’s AI? How do we move into the future, so that this technology can maximally benefit humanity and we can mitigate and govern the guardrails and the risks?” This perspective is particularly relevant for African contexts where responsible implementation can determine whether AI becomes a tool for empowerment or further marginalization.

Africa’s Real Problems Demand AI Solutions

The challenges facing our continent are urgent and solvable through intelligent AI deployment. Sub-Saharan Africa has 1.55 healthcare workers per 1,000 people compared to the WHO threshold of 4.45². AI-powered diagnostic agents can connect community health workers to specialist networks, providing expert-level diagnosis where doctors are unavailable.

In agriculture, where 70% of Africans depend on farming³, AI agents analyzing satellite imagery can provide personalized crop recommendations in local languages. Water scarcity affects 400 million people⁴—AI systems predicting drought patterns can transform water management from reactive crisis response to proactive optimization.

Financial inclusion remains critical with 43% of adults lacking bank accounts⁵. AI credit assessment agents understanding community vouching systems can extend services to populations Western banking models ignore.

The Brain Drain Crisis: Innovation as Retention Strategy

Africa loses approximately 70,000 skilled professionals annually⁶—a $2 billion annual loss⁷. This exodus isn’t just about salary; it’s about intellectual stimulation and cutting-edge challenges. The loss is particularly acute among women technologists, who face additional barriers to career advancement.

Erik Brynjolfsson, director of Stanford’s Digital Economy Lab, advocates using AI to augment human capabilities, avoiding the “Turing Trap” where developers focus on creating AI that mimics human behavior. Instead, “We can have humans do the things that we’re good at… and machines do what they’re good at.” This collaborative approach creates meaningful career opportunities where African professionals work alongside advanced AI systems while contributing irreplaceable human insight.

When fintech companies use AI to assess credit through alternative data sources, they’re creating innovation that attracts global attention. This innovation pipeline creates career trajectories competing with overseas opportunities.

Strategic Protocol Choices for African Sovereignty

Understanding AI governance frameworks and technical protocols becomes crucial for technological sovereignty. Meta’s Chief AI Scientist Yann LeCun emphasizes: “Open source is necessary,” because no country will “have AI sovereignty without open-source models.”

Responsible AI Governance Frameworks from organizations like the Partnership on AI emphasize transparency and accountability—principles aligning with African values. However, most existing frameworks are designed by Global North institutions and may not adequately address African contexts.

Model Context Protocol (MCP) standardizes AI-to-tool connections through JSON-RPC messaging. While enabling rapid deployment, MCP creates strategic dependency on external platforms—an important consideration in technical framework selection.

Agent-to-Agent Protocol (A2A) offers multi-agent orchestration capabilities. A2A enables complex agent collaboration with enterprise-grade security, but the proprietary nature means organizations become consumers rather than contributors to protocol development.

Constraint-Driven Architecture: Africa’s Hidden Advantage

Africa’s resource limitations drive different design approaches than those common in abundance-rich environments. Intermittent power encourages edge computing solutions. Limited bandwidth promotes efficient algorithms. Capital constraints demand measurable returns.

Experience with distributed federated learning models at scale for African enterprises reveals that constraint-driven systems often demonstrate superior resilience and efficiency. Federated learning architectures allow organizations to train AI models collaboratively without centralizing sensitive data—particularly valuable where data sovereignty and connectivity are concerns. AI systems designed to work within infrastructure limitations through event-driven architectures that handle intermittent connectivity gracefully often outperform solutions designed for optimal conditions.

Responsible Implementation: Humans First

Sustainable AI adoption requires keeping humans central to deployment. As Brynjolfsson notes, the goal should not be creating AI that “perfectly mimics human behavior” but rather designing systems where “humans do the things that we’re good at… taking care of kids and talking to each other and interacting, and machines do what they’re good at.”

Stakeholder engagement and cultural integration significantly impact adoption success. Involving existing expertise and systems in AI implementation creates better outcomes than replacement approaches. Importantly, the rise of agentic AI systems makes subject matter expertise even more critical—human experts must serve as verifiers and validators of AI-generated insights to ensure accuracy and contextual relevance.

This collaborative approach addresses talent retention challenges. Rather than viewing AI as job displacement, successful implementations frame it as capability enhancement, creating compelling career paths while building local technical capacity.

The Path Forward: Innovation as Continental Strategy

Africa’s constraints, properly leveraged through human-centered AI innovations, become competitive advantages enabling leapfrog development. The emerging generation of African AI developers—representing diverse backgrounds and perspectives—shows instinctive understanding that our path to technological leadership runs through our constraints, not around them.

By addressing real African challenges through technically sound AI deployment while creating meaningful innovation opportunities, we can transform limitations into competitive advantages. Developing indigenous ethical frameworks offers alignment with sovereignty goals, while adopting existing enterprise solutions requires careful consideration of long-term technical implications.

The choice of technical architecture and implementation approach will determine success. Organizations across the continent considering AI implementation need frameworks that balance global best practices with local technical realities. Having architected these systems across diverse African markets, I continue to work with enterprises seeking to build AI capabilities that create lasting competitive advantage rather than temporary solutions.

Africa cannot afford to wait, but we must be strategic about technical implementation approaches. Resource constraints, when properly architected into system design, create innovative solutions that serve both local needs and broader markets—but only with the right technical expertise guiding the implementation.

References:

1. International Data Corporation. (2024, August 19). Worldwide Spending on Artificial Intelligence Forecast to Reach $632 Billion in 2028, According to a New IDC Spending Guide. Retrieved from https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240819177906/en/
   
   
2. WHO African Region. (2022). The health workforce status in the WHO African Region: findings of a cross-sectional study. BMJ Global Health. Retrieved from https://www.afro.who.int/news/chronic-staff-shortfalls-stifle-africas-health-systems-who-study
   
   
3. World Economic Forum. (2016, May). 70% of Africans make a living through agriculture, and technology could transform their world. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/stories/2016/05/70-of-africans-make-a-living-through-agriculture-and-technology-could-transform-their-world/
   
   
4. Brookings Institution. (2022, March 9). Addressing Africa’s extreme water insecurity. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/articles/addressing-africas-extreme-water-insecurity/
   
   
5. World Bank Group. (2025, January 14). Financial Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa: Overview. Global Findex Database. Retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/globalfindex/brief/financial-inclusion-in-sub-saharan-africa-overview
   
   
6. Mo Ibrahim Foundation. (2018). Brain drain: a bane to Africa’s potential. Retrieved from https://mo.ibrahim.foundation/news/2018/brain-drain-bane-africas-potential
   
   

The post Africa’s Hidden AI Advantage: How Resource Constraints Drive Superior Innovation appeared first on Synthesis.

Wednesday, 16 May 2018

Highlights

• Completed viable asset acquisitions
• Revenue of R571.3 million, up 613%
• Operating profit of R162.3 million, up 917%
• Headline earnings of R143.4 million, up 266%
• HEPS of 9.53 cents, up 204%
• Normalised HEPS of 10.12 cents, up 202%
• Final dividend per share of 2 cents, bringing the total maiden dividend to 4 cents
• Cash generated from operating activities of R166.9 million
• Cash conversion rate of 117% of profits after tax
• R513.2 million cash available for reinvestment
• Transferred to the “Software and Computer Services” sector of the Main Board of the JSE

Johannesburg, 16 May 2018: South African FinTech company Capital Appreciation Limited (CAPPREC) has declared headline earnings of R143.4 million or 9.53 cents per share for the 12 months ending 31 March 2018. These financial results incorporate 11 months of trading for the Group’s newly acquired operating subsidiaries for the first time. The viable-asset acquisitions were approved by CAPPREC shareholders on 5 May 2017. CAPPREC posted revenue of R571.3 million and operating profit of R162.3 million for the year.

“Shareholders and investors who have been tracking CAPPREC since its initial capital raising in October 2015 will, no doubt, conclude that the 2018 financial year was a significantly transformative period for the company”, notes Bradley Sacks, joint CEO of CAPPREC. “Not only were certain viable-asset acquisitions concluded but, more importantly, each of the acquisitions have successfully fulfilled their commencing expectations as evidenced in this set of results, which reveal both solid trading performance and the appropriateness of the purchase price paid for the businesses acquired.” CAPPREC’s Main Board listing on the JSE was also transferred to the Software and Computer Services sector this year.

CAPPREC has two business segments: Payments & Payment Infrastructure (“Payments”) and “Software & Services” (“Software”). CAPPREC concluded four acquisitions during the year, acquiring African Resonance and Dashpay to create its Payments sector and Synthesis as the first business in its Software sector. The Group also acquired 17.5% of a Payments business in Australia.

African Resonance is a leading provider of payment infrastructure and related technology solutions to established financial institutions, emerging payment service providers, the hospitality industry and the retail sector in general. Dashpay is positioned to provide innovative transaction processing services, solutions and products focused on Business-to-Business (B2B) commercial and payment activity. The Dashpay solution set is intended to complement payment services provided by CAPPREC’s established banking and institutional client base.

Synthesis is a highly specialised software and systems developer, offering consulting, integration services and technology-based product solutions to banking and other financial institutions in South Africa and other emerging markets.

CAPPREC generated gross revenues for the year of R571.3 million (2017: R80.2 million). Profit before taxation amounted to R200.0 million (2017: R60.3 million), with Profit after taxation being R142.9 million (2017: R39.2 million). Headline earnings for the year increased by 265% to R143.4 million (2017: R39.2 million), translating into earnings per share (EPS) and headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the year of 9.49 cents per share and 9.53 cents per share respectively, an increase of 202% and 203.5% relative to the previous year.

CAPPREC also reports on normalised headline earnings per share (NHEPS), which together with Earnings before Interest, Taxation, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) are the primary measures used by management to assess CAPPREC’s underlying financial performance. NHEPS comprises HEPS adjusted for specific non-cash and non-trading items and the after-tax amortisation arising from the value attributed to intangible assets that arose in connection with the viable-asset acquisitions. CAPPREC generated EBITDA of R176.5 million (2017: R19.8 million loss) and NHEPS for the year of 10.12 cents (2017: 3.14 cents), an increase of 222.3% on the previous year.

During the period CAPPREC was exceptionally cash generative, with cash generation of 116.8% of the 2018 profits after tax. This characteristic of CAPPREC’s operational enterprises is well reflected in its cash resources at 31 March 2018 of R513.2 million. This amount, when compared to CAPPREC’s cash resources at 31 March 2017, is after payment of the cash portion of the viable asset acquisitions, the payment of an interim dividend in December 2017 and the buy-back of 55.6 million CAPPREC shares at an average price of 74.4 cents, among others. Based on the market price of a CAPPREC share on 31 March 2018 of 80 centscindy, 43% of that price is represented by cash. CAPPREC’s cash resources will be applied, in the first instance, to fund anticipated organic growth, and thereafter to pursue or supplement the cost of new, but complementary acquisition opportunities.

Divisional review

African Resonance and Dashpay, as described earlier, comprise CAPPREC’s Payments & Payment Infrastructure division.

African Resonance primarily sells, distributes, maintains, rents and manages payment devices to, for and on behalf of its banking and institutional clients. African Resonance has a distribution agreement with terminal manufacturer Ingenico (France), a relationship that has developed with reciprocal respect and advantage since the formation of African Resonance in 2003. This division has performed exceptionally well, more than doubling the number of terminals previously managed and serviced. Terminal procurement and deployments by various banking clients during the year increased by c. 43 000 units. When added to the number of terminals in the field at the date of acquisition, African Resonance today manages c.75 000 Ingenico terminals in the overall terminal fleet.

Dashpay has developed an exclusively licensed multi-product, multi-party, universal transacting platform, positioned to provide innovative transaction processing services, solutions and products focused on B2B and B2B2C commercial and payment activity. The Dashpay platform, ecosystem and solution set are intended to complement the traditional payment services provided by the Group’s established banking and institutional client base, are device agnostic and integrate seamlessly with existing legacy systems. Moreover, Dashpay services are ideally suited to serving the rapidly changing needs for secure payment systems and financial management across Africa.

The Payments & Payment Infrastructure division generated turnover of R415.1 million and a profit after tax of R111.0 million. For the past four years the division has experienced a compound annual growth rate in operating profit more than 241%, albeit off a low starting base. The current year’s performance has outperformed the results of the due diligence review concluded at the time of the acquisitions.

Synthesis is the Software and Services business that offers highly specialised software development, consulting and integration services and technology-based solutions to banking and other financial institutions in South Africa and other emerging markets. In addition to their current offerings, Synthesis are making considerable effort through research and development to deliver on the next phase of technological advancement, which include any of machine learning, artificial intelligence, big data blockchain technology, and more. Commercial exploration continues in these areas. Synthesis generated turnover of R93.1 million and a profit after tax of R23.8 million. This revenue was ahead of expectation, suggesting that their profit warranty threshold will be attained at the end of fiscal 2020. The division has consistently generated solid earnings, with a compound annual growth rate in operating profit of 28% per annum for the past four years.

“Each of these subsidiaries have made excellent progress in their first period under the CAPPREC banner and, going forward, collectively are likely to benefit from both expanding demand from the institutional/corporate sector, and demand created through government’s new focus, support and development for SME enterprises, a rapidly emerging and welcome transformational sector in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent”, notes Sacks.

Prospects

As innovative technologies continue to impact our daily lives, new tools, new system and software design, new communicative devices and other inventive applications will continue to transform and impact today’s traditional human and commercial behaviour. CAPPREC’s board believes that the group’s inspired, creative and innovative executive teams will continue to develop new and effective services, solutions, systems, products and applications, in association with its existing and future institutional clients, to meet the demands of its customers. This includes parties seeking efficient and affordable models for financial inclusion of persons previously unserved or ill-served.

“Our organic growth potential is large and compelling and, while we expect continued growth in our underlying businesses, the sector also presents several interesting acquisition opportunities. These would also include opportunities for the expansion and technology transfer of our business models into new markets. There is more confidence in the economy at this time than that experienced in recent years and we are cautiously confident in suggesting better times ahead,” concludes Sacks.

Ends.

For media queries or interviews contact:

Aprio Strategic Communications

Michael Rubenstein

Michael@aprio.co.za

+27829037797

The post Capital Appreciation delivers strong results, acquisitions fulfil commencing expectations appeared first on Synthesis.

Why should we care about company culture?   

I have always found it difficult to describe what culture is. Peter Drucker’s comment  “Culture eats Strategy for breakfast” highlights the importance of culture  We might know that it matters, but this doesn’t help us to understand what it is.    

Edger Schein defines culture as “a pattern of shared basic assumptions that was learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems”.    

Although complex, this is a very good technical definition of culture. It highlights the tacit assumptions that underlie culture and how these assumptions developed. It speaks to the role of external forces as well as the need for social integration on the shaping of culture. Lastly it speaks to the teaching of culture to new members.     

However, it specifically does not address:  

• How to teach culture and how to engage and invite new members into an existing company culture  
• The role of the new member in culture  
• The ultimate purpose of culture  

I would like to suggest that answers to the above questions can be found in a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson.  

Culture 

Can rules or tutors educate  

The semigod whom we await?   

He must be musical,   

Tremulous, impressional,   

Alive to gentle influence   

Of landscape and of sky,   

And tender to the spirit-touch   

Of man’s or maiden’s eye:   

But, to his native centre fast,   

Shall into Future fuse the Past,   

And the world’s flowing fates in his own mould recast.  

The author starts by admitting that “rules or tutors” are not able to teach culture. There is a clear distinction between those areas of knowledge that can be taught and those that need to be caught. Culture is the latter and it often requires a slow process of diffusion to take hold. This explains why companies that grow too quickly often introduce profound culture challenges.    

Who is the “semigod whom we await”?  This is the future you and is addressed to the reader, the person who will be shaped by the culture that they are part of. The use of the word “semigod” is profound because it intimates that we have the ability to reshape the world when we stand up to challenges and respond to them constructively.    

Since culture must be caught, the reader is asked to be open to the lessons of the correct way, to perceive, to think and to feel. This is a passive form of learning, a catching. Just like we let music wash over us and do not critically reject it without first listening we are asked to be “Musical” to open up to what we hear. To be “Tremulous” is to allow yourself to become vulnerable and let the message pass our inner defences so it can touch our heart and in so doing become “impressionable”.    

The shaping of the group occurs because they are “Alive to the gentle influence”. We need to be open to being influenced by our environment “Of landscape and of sky” when it demands that we remain relevant i.e. external adaptation. In addition the internal integration needs of our group “Of man’s or maiden’s eye” is a critical factor in the shaping of group culture.    

However, a person is not a blank slate and they bring their own unique and powerful talents to the group that they become part of. The poet acknowledges this and says  “to his centre fast … shall into Future fuse the Past”. The “Past” are the “shared basic assumptions” that have worked well in the past and therefore are considered valuable for the future. The “Future” is the future you, the “semigod whom we await”.    

The author then ends off by laying down the awesome responsibility each of us must bear. We are the custodians of a better world to come. It is in our hands (“in his own mould”) that “the world’s flowing fates” will be “recast”.    

At the end of the day it is us who are going to be answering the challenges of the future. We are going to need to bring in (“fuse”) the lessons of the past together with our own unique abilities, talents and insight to create a hero who can stand up to the challenges of the present. We are the heroes, who ultimately create a world of the future that we all dream of handing over to our children as our legacy.    

One of the key success factors that a company has is its culture. Only a tiny fraction of companies survive the start-up phase and an even smaller percentage go on to become successful. A key ingredient of this journey was the culture. Not passing on the past ingredients of success could well pose an existential crisis to the future wellbeing of the organization.    

Simon Sinek explains that business is an infinite game and that companies that forget this will be relegated to the waste bin of history. In my opinion the secret to remaining relevant (playing the infinite game) is to be found in understanding what our culture is, pruning off the parts that hold us back and then introducing and promoting those parts that keep us healthy.    

Edgar Schein and Ralph Waldo Emerson have provided us with the keys to unlocking the building blocks of culture – both those of the past and of the future.   

The post Workplace Culture  appeared first on Synthesis.

Even though AI has progressed immensely in the last couple of years, we’re not yet at the point where these models are infallible. There is no substitute for good old, human, common sense.  

When an AI model produces a result that raises a brow, try asking yourself why it would deem the result as truth. Specifically, generative models such as ChatGPT and its predecessors in the GPT family have the tendency to “hallucinate” things – and sound awfully convincing while making up wild things.  

AI models have even been developed to fact check these models:  

2. Be wary of “Experts”

The field of AI is an ever-evolving field. By its definition, practitioners of the field attempt to simulate something that we do not yet understand fully – human intelligence.  

Anyone who claims to know everything about this field clearly does not understand the nature of the field. The prevalence of these self-proclaimed experts have been further exacerbated by the availability of pre-built, no-code and auto-ML solution offerings.  

While these solutions are incredibly useful and serve to democratise AI, they are meant to be used to prove concepts and not as production-grade implementations.  

Some of the drawbacks of these no-code solutions are outlined here.  

3. Don’t be afraid to take risks

As we have mentioned, the field of AI is growing and developing at a famously rapid rate. This means that we don’t yet know what the full set of use-cases look like.  

A model capable of understanding natural language can easily be believed to be useful as a chatbot, but what about a personal legal expert? A paraphraser or copyrighter?  

The field of AI, and Natural Language Processing (NLP) specifically, has progressed so much, that the great challenge of our time has become to try and put reins on the awesome capability these models provide – to ultimately derive value from their understanding of symbolism. 

Looking to use AI and NLP? We have an army of practitioners with over two-years experience implementing NLP models, like GPT3 in production-grade systems.  

Contact us to learn more.  

The post 3 warnings never to miss when using AI appeared first on Synthesis.

It has experienced a strong acceleration in business activity in the past year and a substantial demand for its innovative technology products and solutions. The Group increased gross revenues for the period by 34% to R831 million.

Synthesis Software Technologies and the Responsive Group comprises the Software segment of Capital Appreciation.

The Software division increased revenue by 34% to R297.2 million, given a strong demand for cloud and digital projects and Hardware Security Modules (HSM) sales that increased threefold. EBITDA increased by 22% to R70.1 million.

Synthesis, a leading software development company was acquired by Capital Appreciation in 2017. This year’s annual results mark its fifth year of being part of a JSE-listed company and its fifth year of substantial growth.

“Looking back over the past five years, it is pleasing to note that we have delivered strong results during a flux of changes. Regardless of the circumstances, we never waned in our commitment to our customers, employees, partners and investors.

We unrelentingly and passionately pursue leading technology solutions to solve problems because businesses want and deserve to be at the summit of the digital landscape today. It’s this passion that shines through in our results,” says Michael Shapiro, Synthesis Managing Director.

During this period, Synthesis received the award of AWS Consultancy Partner of the Year for Sub-Saharan Africa and achieved the milestone of over 200 AWS certifications. This further cemented its leadership position for enterprise clients requiring a secure and rapid migration to the AWS Cloud.

The company saw significant expansion and contracted with new customers in financial services, telecoms, retail, healthcare services and contact centres.

Synthesis laid a solid foundation for international expansion with international revenue up by 33% in Asia Pacific, USA and the UK. Diversified revenue streams were also achieved through a focus on new vertical sectors, including logistics and healthcare.

Halo Dot, the Visa, Mastercard and AMEX tap-on-phone payment technology created by Synthesis furthered this diversification. The technology has generated strong interest from local and international markets, attracting multiple new customers. This innovative solution is becoming universally adopted as a novel method to accept card payments on an Android device without the need for purchasing additional hardware.

Synthesis saw expansion with Capital Appreciation launching Synthesis Labs B.V. in Amsterdam to further capitalise on international opportunities.

Synthesis is set to continue its strong momentum. It concluded new contracts with a value of more than R300 million, a large portion of which will be recognised in FY 2023. 

The acquisition of the Responsive Group became effective on 1 March 2022 and has already been integrated into the Software division. Responsive is a digital solutions Group that designs and develops digital applications for clients in South Africa, the USA, Europe and the United Kingdom. The synergies between Synthesis and Responsive will provide clients with a comprehensive digital strategy, design and execution capability from the Group.

“We are excited, motivated and anticipate another positive year as we continue to invest in our people and emerging technologies,” says Shapiro.

Ends

For more information on the innovative work Synthesis has done for its blue-chip clients, contact:

Kim Furman

Marketing Manager

072 236 3572

About Synthesis

Synthesis uses innovative technology solutions to provide businesses with a competitive edge today. Synthesis focuses on banking and financial institutions, retail, healthcare and telecommunications sectors in South Africa and other emerging markets.

In 2017 Capital Appreciation Limited, a JSE-listed Fintech company, acquired 100 percent of Synthesis. Following the acquisition, Synthesis remains an independent operating entity within the Capital Appreciation Group providing Cloud, Digital and RegTech services as well as corporate learning solutions through the Synthesis Academy.

The post Synthesis continues its growth streak with strong annual results appeared first on Synthesis.

AWS awarded Synthesis Software Technologies, an innovative software development company, as the AWS Consultancy Partner of the Year.

The APN is a global community of over 100 000 partners from over 150 countries. Synthesis was chosen as one of only six companies recognised in South Africa.

“AWS Partners add value to customers across a wide range of industries around the world and are critical to their success. We are pleased to recognise a variety of partners through the APN Partner Awards EMEA 2021. I look forward to working together to a great 2022,” said Antonio Alonzo Lopez, EMEA Director Partner Success at AWS.

About the award

The AWS Consultancy Partner of the Year award is given to a high-performing AWS Consultancy Partner who has consistently delivered, shown exceptional performance and commitment to the AWS customers and has helped customers take full advantage of the business benefits that AWS has to offer.

“We are especially proud to receive such a coveted award from AWS, which shows strong recognition of our brand’s commitment to creating significant impact for our customers. A special thanks to every member of the Synthesis team that has contributed to this accolade, and for their significant efforts in executing our strategy. Last and far from least, our sincere gratitude to all our customers for the opportunity to partner with them in inventing, building and operating their next-generation value proposition enabled by AWS technologies,” says Darryl Govender, Synthesis Director of Cloud Services.

About the winner

Synthesis is known for its cloud transformation initiatives that assist companies to become cloud-ready and its rapid mass migrations. It helps customers harness the benefits of big data analytics, builds digital platforms that transform customer experiences and manages platforms to scale for millions such as the work for Discovery Vitality Group capturing and storing healthcare and loyalty data points, Absa Bank for the cloud transformation program, and GovChat for platform designed to keep 50 million users connected to government.

It has experience at every stage of the digital journey with over 200 AWS Certifications and a proven success rate that has resulted in year-on-year revenue growth, with announcing its latest financial period growth of 15.6% to R125.3 million for the half-year ending September 2021.

This award displays Synthesis’ continued dedication to pioneering AWS locally and globally.

What companies do they help?

Leading companies, including financial institutions, retailers and healthcare providers, have chosen Synthesis because of its ability to create the greatest value and solve the hardest problems using the most complex technologies.

“The 2021 AWS Consulting Partner of the Year Award demonstrates our unrelenting commitment to our customers’ success. Prospective customers can be assured that they are partnering with an industry leader with a proven digital transformation track record and extensive expertise,” concludes Govender.

Ends

For more information on the innovative work Synthesis has done for its blue-chip clients, contact:

Kim Furman

Marketing Manager

072 236 3572

About Synthesis

Synthesis believes that providing innovative solutions based on emerging technologies will help their clients become globally competitive.

Synthesis was among the first AWS Advanced Consulting Partners in Africa. It was also among the first Partners in the AWS Partner Network (APN) from the region to achieve the AWS Financial Services Consulting Competency and the AWS DevOps Consulting Competency designations.

In addition, the company is already an AWS SaaS Partner, with expertise in offering APN Immersion Days, and conducting AWS Well-Architected reviews. It also has attained the AWS Security Consulting Competency as well as the AWS Microsoft Workloads Consulting Competency.

The post Synthesis is Awarded AWS Consultancy Partner of the Year – SSA appeared first on Synthesis.

On Tuesday, 30 November, Capital Appreciation (Capprec), a financial technology (“FinTech”) enterprise, announced its financial results for the six months ended 30 September 2021.

Synthesis Software Technologies comprises the Software and Services segment of Capprec. The innovative software development and consulting company delivered a solid set of financial results, bolstered by excellent results in the period.

Revenue increased by 15.6% to R125.3 million (September 2020: R108.4 million). Services and consultancy fees grew by 17.4% due to the increased demand for cloud and digital projects, while licence and subscription fees remained stable.

Due to the deliberate investment made into Synthesis’ Payment products (Halo Dot and Keystone) as well as increased sales of third-party partnership software products, which attracts a lower gross margin, profit margins were under pressure. However, Synthesis showed a pleasing result with EBITDA increasing by 3.6% to R29.0 million (September 2020: R28.0 million).

Additionally, new business efforts have opened relationships with 19 new customers since the beginning of the financial year.

“Synthesis is a team of builders. Despite challenging times, we rallied, and inspired, we innovated, always building, creating and solving. We look back at the year with pride, and gratitude to our customers, employees, partners and investors. We look ahead with exhilaration, excited to build on what we have already begun,” says Michael Shapiro, Synthesis Managing Director.

Business Divisions & Partnership Growth

Synthesis experienced a significant increase in its Cloud division in the area of cloud migration projects and attracted further financial services and retail clients.

The AWS partnership continues to grow. Synthesis recently achieved the impressive milestone of 200 Amazon Web Services (AWS) certifications, reflecting the company’s deep technical expertise.

The Digital and Intelligent Data teams recently expanded into the shipping and logistics industry, after winning an RFP to build digital and AI systems for a large container shipping group operating out of Singapore. There is a massive demand for intelligent data solutions and Synthesis has attracted several new customers in financial services, telecoms, retail, healthcare services and contact centres.

Synthesis’ RegTech division continued to grow its range and depth of product for its stable of existing clients and a strong pipeline of potential projects.

In a high growth and exciting area, the Payment Technology and Cryptography division continues to innovate and develop new features for the Halo Dot product. Recent certifications by Visa, Mastercard, and AMEX for PIN entry to enable acceptance of high-value transactions. This makes Halo Dot a complete software alternative to physical POS devices – and a game-changing prospect for the local and global market.

In partnership with DashPay, Synthesis developed a SoftPOS App for Android devices that supports re-branding for customers who want to rapidly deploy their own SoftPOS application.

International Expansion

During the period, the Capital Appreciation Group launched its new subsidiary company Synthesis Labs B.V., driven by Synthesis South Africa and based in the FinTech hub of Amsterdam.

The new venture will allow the Group to capitalise on international opportunities matched to its skillset, services, and product offerings including marketing the Halo Dot offering to banks and global payments providers. It marks the start of a focused effort to further diversify its revenue and customer base by introducing an international client base.

Prospects

With the acceleration in demand for digital transformation, electronic payments, cloud services, and related advances, the strong demand for Synthesis’ services is set to continue into the second half of the financial year.

The themes of cloud migration, emerging technology, and evolving forms of payments are accelerating, and Synthesis is well-positioned to deliver products and value propositions to support its clients’ journeys to becoming more digitally enabled.

Synthesis has a pleasing pipeline of projects lined up for FY 2021. “We will continue to invest for the future in critical resources to grow and deliver our products, solutions and project pipelines,” says Shapiro.

Ends

For more information on the innovative work Synthesis has done for its blue-chip clients, contact:

Kim Furman

Marketing Manager

072 236 3572

About Synthesis

Synthesis is a true South African success story. Synthesis believes that providing innovative solutions based on emerging technologies will help their clients become globally competitive. Synthesis focuses on banking and financial institutions, retail, media and telecommunications sectors in South Africa and other emerging markets.

In 2017 Capital Appreciation Limited, a JSE-listed Fintech company, acquired 100 percent of Synthesis. Following the acquisition, Synthesis remains an independent operating entity within the Capital Appreciation Group providing Cloud, Digital and RegTech services as well as corporate learning solutions through the Synthesis Academy.

The post Synthesis Continues to Pioneer, Leading to Strong Results appeared first on Synthesis.

The company creates and manages complex, high-value technology, partnering with customers to give them a true competitive edge whether through its cloud, digital, data, training, or managed services offerings.

This milestone is reflective of Synthesis’s commitment to providing its customers with deep technical expertise and an unparalleled customer experience. Synthesis’s customers are experiencing this daily:

“They galvanised, supported and empowered us to go on this AWS journey with confidence, knowing we had the best minds looking at the solutioning for us. It’s the proven way of Synthesis working and its experience, that’s what we’ve bought, and that’s what we’re empowered with into the future.”  said David Slotow, Trackmatic CEO.

It is also testament to its culture of curiosity and innovation, as well as its commitment to developing its employees. The software company offers its employees training journeys through its Academy and incentives for constant growth.

This Academy is also open to Synthesis’s customers and partners, allowing them to learn the latest on AWS from highly trained and experienced professionals. The Synthesis Academy ensures companies get relevant, real-world skills that they can implement instantly through its unique, gamified approach for business decision makers and technical teams.

“This is an amazing achievement for us,” says Darryl Govender, Head of Cloud Services at Synthesis. “I’m extremely proud of the team’s achievement towards this goal we’ve long set for ourselves; Synthesis is 100% committed to growing our skill and expertise in public cloud, validated by industry-recognised credentials and, of course, the proven delivery experienced by our customers.”

This achievement displays Synthesis’s continued dedication to pioneering AWS locally and globally. It was among the first AWS Advanced Consulting Partners in Africa. Synthesis was also among the first Partners in the AWS Partner Network (APN) from the region to achieve the AWS Financial Services Consulting Competency and the AWS DevOps Consulting Competency designations. In addition, the company is already an AWS SaaS Partner, with expertise in offering APN Immersion Days, and conducting AWS Well-Architected reviews. It also has attained the AWS Security Consulting Competency as well as the AWS Microsoft Workloads Consulting Competency.

“To be part of a company that is devoted to the development of the staff through learning is priceless. To many, a technical certification may just be a piece of paper, however, at Synthesis it comes with knowledge and experience. I am extremely proud of everyone at the company. It is just the beginning and I am certain we will rise to new heights going forward,” said Tracy Morris, AWS Partner Alliance Lead at Synthesis.

Ends

For more information on the innovative work Synthesis has done for its blue-chip clients, contact:

Kim Furman

Marketing Manager

072 236 3572

About Synthesis

Synthesis is a true South African success story. Synthesis believes that providing innovative solutions based on emerging technologies will help their clients become globally competitive. Synthesis focuses on banking and financial institutions, retail, media and telecommunications sectors in South Africa and other emerging markets.

In 2017 Capital Appreciation Limited, a JSE-listed Fintech company, acquired 100 percent of Synthesis. Following the acquisition, Synthesis remains an independent operating entity within the Capital Appreciation Group providing Cloud, Digital and RegTech services as well as corporate learning solutions through the Synthesis Academy.

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