TOP 5 ENTERPRISE SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENT: OPENING UP ACCESS TO SUPPLY CHAINS | EDITORIAL
TOP 5 ENTERPRISE SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENT: OPENING UP ACCESS TO SUPPLY CHAINS By Koketso Mamabolo
In Chapter 3 of the National Development Plan (NDP), the
DISTELL
government acknowledges how far we have come in
With over R100-million in their portfolio for SME support,
transforming our economy, while recognising that more
Distell are setting a high standard for ESD initiatives. They
needs to be done to go even further:
were celebrated for their work, in opening up the gates to SMEs, as one of the finalists for Top Empowerment
“The corporate landscape of South Africa has changed
Enterprise Supplier Development award in 2021.
remarkably since 1994. However, it remains highly concentrated. This poses a barrier to business entry
Their enterprise development has three facets:
and expansion in key markets, which are essential for
1.
Market access
employment creation. Present forms of black economic
2.
Financial inclusion
empowerment (BEE) are not achieving all the desired
3.
Access to business development services
objectives.” The objective is to procure from more black and black Enterprise Supplier Development (ESD) has emerged
women-owned businesses, thereby assisting them to
as an effective approach to achieving the vision
scale up their operations. Distell is achieving this through
set out in the NDP. Suppliers from previously-
initiatives such as their flagship program, E+Scalator,
disadvantaged backgrounds are faced with an
launched in 2016. The programme is geared towards
array of challenges when setting up businesses
supporting non-agricultural clients.
and attempting to enter the market. Supplier development initiatives seek to transform supply
Through the use of an online platform, suppliers are able
chains, by providing support through training,
to browse for opportunities to do business with Distell, in
financing and preferential procurement.
real-time.
We take a look at five companies who are leading the
“Our strategy is to provide our enterprise and supplier
way with their ESD strategies, and delve into some of the
development beneficiaries with the services and support
programmes they have launched.
they need to overcome challenges preventing them from 2 1 ST E D I T I O N
IMPUMELELO TOP EMPOWERMENT
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