Amazon.com open a software development centre in Cape Town

Online retailer Amazon.com has opened a software development centre in Cape Town, a statement issued by the company said on Tuesday. The centre will create innovative web services and help software developers build innovative applications using Amazon technology.

It is the third centre of its kind in the world, with the other two in Scotland and India.

Chris Pinkham, managing director of the centre, co-founded South Africa's first internet service provider, UUNET, in 1993. In 2000 he joined Amazon.com in Seattle as director for the network engineering group and later as vice president responsible for worldwide IT systems infrastructure.

The launch of the Amazon centre in Cape Town is "testament to the calibre of the highly-skilled talent pool in South Africa", according to Pinkham.

Source: Mail & Guardian Online

UPDATE [20/07]: Gareth has covered this in more detail, along with posting a link to the site: http://za.amazon.com, and I can't agree with him more:

This also has to send a message to the techies in SA - stop burying your head in the sand and take a look at the rest of the world. Take part, get involved, tell people about your skills, stop thinking the world ends at the Limpopo.

If you're looking, they're hiring!