How the DTIC Global Business Services incentive supports the offshoring and BPO sector — and why you must confirm its current status before relying on it.

dgm is an independent integration partner for osFoundry — it is not affiliated with osFoundry’s maker (OS LLC) and has not yet completed an integration project for any client.

The DTIC Global Business Services (GBS) incentive supports the offshoring and BPO sector by subsidising job creation for servicing international clients. It is a grant to the operating company creating those jobs — not a fund that pays for AI tooling.

What the GBS incentive is

  • A DTIC cash-grant incentive to attract and grow offshore business services, BPO, contact-centre and IT-enabled-services operations in South Africa, by subsidising job creation for servicing offshore clients.
  • Its secondary objectives include youth employment and export revenue.
  • It is a grant to the operating company creating offshore-servicing jobs, tied to headcount — no AI vendor is a GBS-accredited supplier.
  • Important: the DTIC GBS page carries a status notice dated January 2026 whose content was not readable in the page body. Do not assume the incentive is open for new applications — confirm the current status directly with the DTIC before relying on it.

What it means for an AI project

  • If you run a BPO operation, the GBS incentive relates to your offshore-servicing jobs, not to AI tooling you buy.
  • A tool like osFoundry can support a contact-centre or BPO operation, but the incentive funds jobs, not the software.

The honest framing

Public support in South Africa funds the company’s own research, development or innovation, or gives it a tax break — it does not buy an off-the-shelf AI subscription. The section 11D R&D tax incentive offers a 150% deduction on approved R&D, requires pre-approval by the Department of Science and Innovation and has been extended to 31 December 2033; the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) and the Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency (SEDFA, formed in 2024 from SEDA and SEFA) fund innovation and small enterprises; and DTIC sector programmes such as the Global Business Services (GBS) incentive and the automotive APDP support specific industries. Separately, Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) is a procurement and empowerment scorecard, not a grant: a supplier’s B-BBEE level affects how many procurement points its customers earn, so it shapes who buyers prefer rather than paying for software. dgm is not a registered or accredited provider of any of these programmes; it can advise a beneficiary or act as a subcontractor.

Where dgm comes in

dgm is an independent integration partner that helps organisations in South Africa adopt the osFoundry platform — from identifying the first practical use case, to setting it up, to connecting AI to the systems you already run. dgm can help identify which parts of your activity might qualify — without committing that any incentive will be granted. dgm operates separately from osFoundry’s maker (OS LLC) and has not yet completed an integration project for any client, so everything above is a proposed service rather than a delivered outcome. If you would like to weigh up a practical first step, dgm would be glad to think it through with you. Arrange an introductory call with dgm.

This article is general information and is not legal, financial or tax advice. Incentives, tax rates and regulations change; always confirm the current position with an official source (SARS, the Department of Science and Innovation, the dtic, the Information Regulator, the FSCA or the relevant authority) or a qualified adviser before you act.