With PE being described as a fast-rising software development city in the Eastern Cape province, the new outlet includes a software development centre through which LexisNexis intends to tap into the province’s burgeoning computer science and information technology graduate base.
Head of production, Peter Raine, said the establishment of the office in the promising suburb of Humewood followed LexisNexis’ acquisition of Korbitec in November 2015.
“What was largely a Korbitec sales operation in Port Elizabeth has now been expanded significantly to include a strong focus on software development. This is in line with one of the company’s core values of innovation, which sees us strive to deliver tomorrow’s software solutions, today, in line with advances in technology,” he said.
“For the past 11 years, our main recruitment channels have been Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in Port Elizabeth and Rhodes University in nearby Grahamstown. As an employer of choice, we find it exciting that talent is being nurtured and grown here in the Eastern Cape, and that graduates are making a huge difference to the economy and intellectual capital of the region,” he said.
Recent evidence of the region’s flourishing software development potential included the “overwhelming response” enjoyed by LexisNexis South Africa at the NMMU Computing Sciences and IT Fair in March, where students flocked to the company’s stand to enquire about career opportunities.
Raine said the company saw Port Elizabeth as an attractive prospect because of its pipeline of graduates, and an attractive coastal lifestyle.
In setting up shop in Port Elizabeth, the company joins a growing number of multinational corporates investing millions in the city. The new LexisNexis South Africa office is situated in the Harbour View Building in Oakworth Road.
