The comments were made by Sunil Geness, director of global government affairs and CSR at 51ˇçÁ÷Africa, and Sergio Maccotta, senior VP and GM for 51ˇçÁ÷Middle East and Africa – South.

Geness and Maccotta said businesses that can sense change, make decisions and act with minimal human intervention are reshaping how companies operate and compete. According to SAP, autonomous operations – where nearly half of all business processes run independently and most operational work isĚýautomatedĚýor AI-augmented – are being deployed across finance, supply chain and human resources in industries including energy, retail and manufacturing.

“This is made possible through AI embedded within enterprise resource planning processes, from finance and procurement to supply chain and HR systems, that understand context and act autonomously,” said Maccotta. “Self-optimising systems that learn, improve and adapt in real-time are matched to clean-core ERP architecture to give organisations simplified, cloud-based systems that drive profitability, reduce risk and enhance decision-making.”

51ˇçÁ÷cited data fromĚýĚýindicating that the global autonomous enterprise market is projected to grow from about $49 billion in 2024 to more than $118 billion by 2030, with adoption accelerating across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The company said while few surveys use “autonomous enterprise” as a formal category, data on AI, ERP and AI agents reflects technologies underpinning autonomous models.

Recent data for the Middle East and Africa region indicates a market size set to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.7%, reaching $10.2 billion by 2032.

“AI is enhancing efficiency and fostering innovation across industries, from automating routine tasks to enabling complex data analysis and providing predictive insights, while also improving decision-making and optimising business operations,” Geness said.

51ˇçÁ÷added that some analysts estimate AI could contribute $1.5 trillion to Africa’s economy if the continent captures 10% of the global AI market by 2030.

Data sovereignty

51ˇçÁ÷executives said Africa’s digital transformation continues, with data sovereignty emerging as a key factor.

“For multinational organisations and technology companies, success depends on the ability to localise without losing global efficiency, to build trust while maintaining innovation, and to invest strategically in infrastructure and partnerships that align with both regulatory demands and customer expectations,” Maccotta added.

The company said Africa’s data centre market is projected to exceed $9 billion by 2029, although it remains a small share of the global total.

Executives said autonomy does not eliminate human roles but changes them, shifting employees from managing repetitive processes to supervising systems and making strategic decisions.

Maccotta advises business leaders seeking to build autonomous enterprises to start by modernising the core and fixing the data foundation for AI-driven innovation.

“Remember that technology is only part of the story, and that the strategy, people and partners that businesses choose are as important to building a truly connected autonomous enterprise. Focus then on automating processes that protect revenue, improve cashflow or unlock capacity first, and take care to prepare people by prioritising reskilling and upskilling.

“Finally, collaborate with technology partners that act more as advisors than vendors, and can guide the process of redesigning core business processes for the AI era. True transformation happens when businesses combine intelligent systems with visionary leadership, skilled people and trusted partnerships.”

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The era of digitisation is giving way to something more profound: the Autonomous EnterpriseĚý–Ěýa business that can sense change, make decisions and act with minimal human intervention, all while empowering people to pursue revenue-driving strategic activities.

Autonomous operations are already being deployed across finance, supply chain, human resources, an in Industries like Energy, Retail and Manufacturing. In 2026, they will separate the most resilient and profitable businesses from the rest.

An Autonomous Enterprise goes beyond automating individual tasks by integrating autonomous ERP, business AI and clean data into the core of business operations. More than 50% of business processes run independently, and up to 80% of operational work is automated or AI-augmented.

This is made possible through AI embedded within enterprise resource planning processes, from finance and procurement, to supply chain and HR systems, that understand context and act autonomously. Self-optimising systems that learn, improve and adapt in real time, are matched to clean-core ERP architecture to give organisations simplified, cloud-based systems that drive profitability, reduce risk and enhance decision-making.

Crucially, autonomy does not remove humans: it redefines and empower their work. Employees move from managing repetitive processes to supervising intelligent systems, making strategic decisions and creating new value throughout the business.

2026 ‘a tipping point’

The year ahead will be critical for organisations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In Europe, business leaders face an ageing workforce, complex supply chains, regulatory pressure, and the push for sustainability and data sovereignty. Middle Eastern nations are already deploying national AI strategies and sovereign cloud infrastructure as part of a rapid diversification from the energy sector. And despite inflation and debt pressures, a world’s fastest-growing digital economy and most youthful workforce are emerging in Africa.

While the challenges in each region are unique, at their core every organisation is seeking the same capabilities: faster decision-making, greater profitability, improved resilience, and sustainability at scale.

Businesses that fail to build these capabilities, and instead rely on manual processes, disconnected systems and spreadsheets, face growing risks: slower reaction time, shrinking margins, and higher operational costs.

This is why the business opportunity for Autonomous Enterprises is significant. The global Autonomous Enterprise market is expected to grow fromĚý, and adoption is accelerating across EMEA.

ĚýGlobal partner for business transformation

While I can see the scale of the challenge businesses face to transform into autonomous enterprises, I am equally excited at bringing SAP’s strengths in this arena to bear. Through our flagship – now more accessible than ever thanks to the RISE with 51ˇçÁ÷initiative – we equip businesses with modern, clean core ERP systems that are upgrade-safe and AI ready.

, SAP’s generative AI copilot now supports 11 languages and features more than 400 embedded AI use cases across 26 industries, while the enables extensibility, data orchestration and clean core innovation for the world’s most critical industries.

My advice, to leaders seeking throughout the region to build Autonomous Enterprises, is to start modernising the core and fix the data foundation for AI-driven innovation. Remember that technology is only part of the story, and that the strategy, people and partners that businesses choose are as important to building a truly connected Autonomous Enterprise.

Focus then on automating processes that protect revenue, improve cashflow or unlock capacity first, and take care to prepare people by prioritising reskilling and upskilling. Finally, collaborate with technology partners that act more as advisors than vendors, and who can guide the process of redesigning core business processes for the AI era. True transformation happens when businesses combine intelligent systems with visionary leadership, skilled people and trusted partnerships.

In 2026, the most successful companies will go beyond digital transformation to achieve faster decision-making, greater operational certainty, and the ability to unlock new forms of growth and innovation.

This article first appeared in .

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Pillay joined 51ˇçÁ÷as a graduate over 20 years ago, and has worked in roles spanning consulting, support, quality management, customer success and, most recently, as the head of the organisation’s regional partner ecosystem. She fundamentally believes 51ˇçÁ÷has a leading role to play in helping Africa’s public and private sector companies achieve their AI and innovation ambitions.

Sergio Maccotta, senior vice president at 51ˇçÁ÷Middle East and Africa South, says: “Nazia will bring vital expertise and leadership skills to one of SAP’s most important regions as we continue to empower youth, drive innovation within our customers and partners, and build a more inclusive, sustainable future.

“With companies across Southern Africa gearing up for an era of AI- and cloud-led innovation, we are especially excited to see how Nazia’s leadership will guide how organisations adopt technology as a strategic lever for national development and growth.”

Pillay says she will focus on three core areas in her new role, to ensure existing partnerships are strengthened and new ones cultivated, while helping customers prepare for a digital-first, cloud-first world.

“Teaming up with our valued customer and partner ecosystem across the region is mission-critical for our business, especially as we showcase SAP’s latest capabilities as an AI-first, suite first technology partner. As a people-focused leader, I have also made it my longer-term ambition to make our local office the best place to work in South Africa.”

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Having partnered with 51ˇçÁ÷since 2007, the City was no stranger to 51ˇçÁ÷deployments, but as recently as two years ago, it was still using 17-year old systems.

, group chief technology officer at City of Johannesburg, explains that the City is going ahead with major technology investments on .

No digital transformation journey goes smoothly, and Mochela says the City’s current deployment has been no different.

“I had a virtual dinosaur, on a physical dinosaur, that has been sitting in the data centre for years,” he says. “We had to revamp the environment, and to do that, we had to shut down 51ˇçÁ÷for 21 days. The system had serious challenges, and if we hadn’t made that decision, the City’s environment might have collapsed.”

The City was running on SAP’s version 4.7 for 15 years – and it had been customised almost beyond recognition. “Last year we finally upgraded to ECC6 – which many customers did years ago,” Mochela says. “This was so we could transition to S/4HANA.”

, senior vice-president for 51ˇçÁ÷Middle East and Africa South, had his first interaction with the City two years ago.

“Not only was the system down, but we had no contract with the City at that stage either,” he remembers.

But three priorities came out of the first meeting: a sense of urgency in that the City was unable to access its data; a vision to adopt innovative technology; and the need to see a return on its investment.

So 51ˇçÁ÷and the City of Johannesburg formed a public-private partnership that allowed them to first stabilise the system, then migrate the technology, and thirdly to start changing processes to engender innovation.

Mochela contextualises how previous system upgrades had adopted old processes, and this had to change.

“When we were transitioning from 4.7 to S/4 HANA, we had to re-implement processes, and we had to work with the business because a smart solution and a smart city can’t be built on old processes

“Treasury gives us precepts, and industry gives us best practices – and these two must align. Technology will disrupt the business, and those that won’t change will be left behind.”

51ˇçÁ÷is able to leverage best-practices end-to-end thanks to its work with more than 400 000 customers around the world, Maccotta points out.

One of the early challenges that Mochela had to overcome was a resistance to putting HCM on the cloud.

Maccotta explains that the cloud conversation has moved beyond whether it should be done or not.

“ A lot of customers still don’t know how to approach innovation, to modernise their business. And there is still the question of whether they should move to cloud.

“I suggest that the cloud is not in question anymore,” he adds. “It’s like the dilemma 30 years ago, whether to build or buy software. Today, the speed and innovation offered by the cloud transcends what can be done on-premise.

“And cloud releases customers from mundane IT administration, so the IT organisation can be closer to the business and become a business adviser,” Maccotta says. “Will you continue to spend your time trying to keep the lights on, to keep the status quo running? Or will you put the effort into innovation?”

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ĚýJOHANNESBURG, South Africa – June 2, 2025 – 51ˇçÁ÷experts, partners and customers are converging this week at SAPHILA 2025, the flagship user conference for SAP’s Africa ecosystem.

, says: “Africa is a vital region for SAP’s vision of bringing out the best in every business. As our incredible customers, partners and experts gather at this year’s SAPHILA, we are excited to explore new opportunities to help organisations take advantage of the latest cloud and business AI innovations to power growth and success throughout the region.”

SAPHILA is the premier conference by the African 51ˇçÁ÷User Group (), an independent, non-profit organisation representing SAP’s customers and partner communities in Africa. is held biennially in collaboration with SAP. The event is currently underway at the iconic Sun City Resort & Convention Centre.

Exploring AI, cloud possibilities

SAPHILA 2025 takes place as organisations across the continent increasingly leverage cloud and AI-powered technologies to break through traditional limits and explore new frontiers of innovation.

, Head of Global Customer Engagement & Services and Member of the Extended Board at SAP, notes the critical importance of a holistic approach to business transformation and cloud adoption to unlock the full value of innovations like AI. “Organisations are under pressure to stay agile and foster innovation across the entire enterprise. But this is much more than just a technology shift, it’s about capabilities, tools, and methodology to accelerate business transformation and deliver faster time to value.”

found that cloud and AI skills were the most prized among African organisations when recruiting tech talent. All companies that formed part of the Africa’s AI Skills Readiness Revealed report expected the demand for AI skills to increase this year.

, Executive Vice President and Head of Customer Support & Cloud Lifecycle Management at SAP, highlights how companies adopting an AI-first and suite-first strategy are revolutionising their business operations. “Organisations are unlocking smarter decision-making, seamless collaboration and innovation-fuelled growth by embedding systems of AI agents and leveraging a unified data layer enabled by 51ˇçÁ÷Business Data Cloud. For our customers and partners, the journey to unlocking the power of cloud is accelerated by RISE with SAP, the most effective route to transforming their on-premise ERP landscape to a cloud-first model.”

Biggest gathering yet

This year’s SAPHILA is the biggest yet, with over a thousand delegates in attendance. In addition to keynote speeches and insightful presentations from local and global experts, there are also a range of interactive sessions, including an Ask Me Anything session, product deep dives through a personalised digital portal, and several practical sessions.

, Interim Managing Director for South Africa at SAP, says SAPHILA is the most important networking event for SAP’s ecosystem this year. “As our customers and partners explore new realms of possibilities with powerful business AI and cloud technologies, this year’s SAPHILA will provide invaluable insights and guidance on how to best take advantage of this new era of innovation. We thank AFSUG for driving this essential event in this year’s calendar and look forward to sharing our latest insights and solutions with the broader 51ˇçÁ÷ecosystem.”

AFSUG CEO adds: “This year’s SAPHILA is an unmissable event for every company and partner that leverages SAP’s technologies to transform their operations and drive innovation. Thank you to our friends at 51ˇçÁ÷for their support and for the incredible lineup of local and global experts sharing their invaluable learnings with our delegates.”

For more information about SAPHILA 2025, please visit

ENDS

Visit the 51ˇçÁ÷News Center. Follow 51ˇçÁ÷at .

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A number of leading local organisations will take to the stage to share their successes, challenges and lessons learned in leveraging 51ˇçÁ÷technologies at the upcoming event, whichĚýis setĚýtoĚýtake place from 01 to 03 June 2025 at Sun City in South Africa’s North-West Province.

Day one of SAPHILA features an Executive Fireside Chat, whereĚý, SAP’s SVP and GM for Middle East Africa – South, will host a panel discussion withĚý,Ěýthe City of Johannesburg’sĚýGroup Chief Technology Officer, andĚý, Deputy Director-General: eGovernment and Chief Government Information Officer at the South African Department of Public Service and Administration.

Also on the first day of the conferenceĚý, Head of Applications, and , Chief Information Officer (CIO) of , will discuss how the pharmaceutical retail group effectively de-risked and accelerated its S/4HANA RISE transformation. In addition, , ’s 51ˇçÁ÷Extended Services Manager, will highlight Aspen’s metamorphosis.

Day two of SAPHILA continues the customer-centric theme, with several prominent African organisations set to share their 51ˇçÁ÷journeys.

• Dinesh Ramasamy of Said Salim Bakhresa & Company, the flagship company of the Bakhresa Group, will present on its experience in the deployment, consumption and adoption of 51ˇçÁ÷technologies.
• Sasol’s Vice President of Supply Chain Services and Leverage Sourcing, Hendrik Steynberg, will unpack the company’s story in a session titled ‘Transforming Procurement: Sasol’s Journey to Innovation and Efficiency with 51ˇçÁ÷Solutions’.
• From Mozambique, Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH) – the country’s national energy company – will share its success with 51ˇçÁ÷S/4 RISE and SuccessFactors, presented by Director of Information Systems, InĂĄcio Mateus Fumo.
• In the local transport sector, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s (PRASA) Vukile Nduli will explore how it is leveraging 51ˇçÁ÷to digitise and track assets, creating a digital twin framework that enhances visibility and control.
• Further insights will be shared by Nick Jackson, CIO of the Royal Swaziland Sugar Corporation, discussing the expansion of the company’s public cloud ERP system with 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors.
• Dis-Chem returns to the stage with Dawid Oelofse, Supply Chain Executive, revealing how the group has implemented over 100 automated warehouse management processes.
• Tatenda Mandeya, Group IT Manager at Northern Tobacco will co-present with Carsten Friedman of 51ˇçÁ÷on how IT supports sustainability in tobacco sourcing in rural Zimbabwe.
• Tiger Brands’ Ntsako Ngobeni, S&OP Capability Manager, will explain how the food and beverage giant has reimagined its planning function to enable end-to-end optimisation and improved working capital efficiency.
• Nedbank’s Justin Tobias will present with Felix Chebeli from Strafore Tech the bank’s success in test automation using Tricentis and 51ˇçÁ÷Solution Manager.
• Simon Marlin, GM of IT at Toyota South Africa Motors, will walk the audience through Toyota’s S/4HANA transition.
• Ashlita Barlow, Head of Retail Technologies at the Shoprite Group, will showcase how 51ˇçÁ÷Fiori and BTP are driving businessĚýchangeby improving stock availability, ensuring transaction accuracy, and reducing waste.
• Rounding out the customer stories, Regardt Wolvaardt, Solutions Architect at PG Group, will share insights on how digital supply chain planning has enabled unified operations.
• Finally, Chris Kien, Enterprise Solution Architect at Implats, will present on driving efficiency and agility through the organisation’s 51ˇçÁ÷S/4HANA transformation.

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Ravi Kumar, Chief Corporate Officer of Crescent Petroleum and Board Member of the Crescent Group, said, “Having completed the Phase 1 of the 51ˇçÁ÷roadmap in a record 8 months, we set out to integrate Crescent Petroleum’s operations, providing a seamless flow of data, from Wellhead to Customer, in Phase 2. The benefits are significant as we have integrated data across disparate parts of the plant allowing us to seamlessly integrate plant systems with 51ˇçÁ÷systems, and ensure a single source of truth across the Company.”

The post Crescent Petroleum Boosts Growth by Extending SAP appeared first on 51ˇçÁ÷Africa News Center.

Sergio Maccotta, senior vice-president for Middle East South and Africa at SAP, says Makhohliso joins the company at a pivotal time.

“Organisations throughout Southern Africa are uncovering new capabilities and efficiency gains through the smart use of intelligent technologies, thereby accelerating business transformation and sustainability efforts. As the region shifts to more agile and resilient business processes to power growth across multiple industries, Kholiwe’s technology and leadership expertise will be a great asset to our business.

Makhohliso’s background

With more than 20 years’ technology experience and previous leadership roles that span both the public and private sectors, Makhohliso started her career as an auditor. During her illustrious career, she has worked in IT, consulting and sales for blue chip companies that include Accenture and Oracle. Most recently, Makhohliso was the vice-president and country MD for German software company, Software AG, where she served as an executive director board member.

Passionate about education and youth skills development, Makhohliso is also chairperson of the Sparrow Trust, a non-profit organisation working to provide young, disadvantaged South African youth with education and learning opportunities.

‘A fantastic time to join 51ˇçÁ÷‘

Speaking of her new appointment Makhohliso comments, “This is a fantastic time to be joining SAP, as the organisation takes significant strides on its cloud leadership journey that is embracing the potential of AI and sustainability in the Southern African marketplace. I’m excited for this next chapter in my career as the region has a well-established installed base of 51ˇçÁ÷customers, and I look forward to further engaging both customers and partners to generate ongoing positive impact, powered by technology.”

“Organisations are navigating a new era of change and uncertainty and the role that technology plays in unlocking value is critical,” adds Maccotta.

“Kholiwe’s appointment to this strategic leadership role will be invaluable in further leading SAP’s efforts in Southern Africa to power innovation and ultimately fuel economic growth.”

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