PROFILE
W
hile transformation continues to be a contentious issue, only a few people are at the forefront of it, especially those who want to see real change. One such person is Neo Molefe of Transcend Corporate Advisors, a specialist in corporate strategy development, B-BBEE implementation, and scorecard development.
Transcend provides mechanisms and tools that South African businesses can use to bridge the gap of inequalities. So, being a director of Transcend Corporate Advisors puts Molefe in the driver’s seat of transformation. He has been steering the consulting firm in the right direction for the past six years. This unassuming business leader, who grew up in Thaba-Nchu, is today a business magnate of note. He recalls his upbringing poignantly: “Growing up in the early ‘90s meant there weren’t many opportunities for us. This is what inspired me to succeed,” he says. Molefe, through the support of his LLB scholarship, attained work placement in the legal fraternity, which later informed his cross-industry desire and passion for reading, interpreting, and helping businesses in the process.
WALKING THE TALK
TOWARDS EQUALITY
Although efforts of transformation in South Africa began in early 1994, the hard reality is that they have been moving at a snail’s pace. According to the B-BBEE Commission’s latest report, only 56 % of JSE-listed companies are B-BBEE compliant. This was echoed by the World Bank in its inequality report, which found South Africa to be the most unequal society globally. 22
www.transformsa.co.za
B-BBEE, at its inception, was meant to be an economic tool. Its objective, amongst other things, was to rectify the racial injustices created by the apartheid government. “People tend to associate Transcend to B-BBEE only, but we like to think of ourselves as something more different than that. BEE has the connotation that it is all about the scorecard and the numbers (for example, let’s get to 55 points, and we’re compliant). But as Transcend, we like to see ourselves as a transformation house. We believe more in transformation in addition to B-BBEE, and we typically say as part of our slogan that we aim for going “beyond compliance” of the scorecard, and “getting transformation right”. Engraving the substance and spirit of transformation into the fabric of the organisation is a challenge that any large corporate must address.” Transcend has three divisions: a transformation division, of which Molefe is a director in,
