Pretoria - Business has welcomed the Department of Trade and Industry’s Black Industrialists Programme that is aimed at expanding the industrial base and injecting new dynamism with the inclusion and participation of black industrialists.
Black Business Council Vice President Sandile Zungu said the business fraternity fully supports the programme, which was officially launched at The New Age business briefing on Wednesday.
Zungu said the first step business will take is to internalise the whole programme and give guidance to entrepreneurs who want to access the scheme.
He said many black firms must benefit from the policy and they must be encouraged to bloom in order to expand the country’s industrial base.
“The business narrative is shifting and we need to have more black people controlling the value chain in the economy in order to have a more inclusive and radical economic transformation,” said Zungu.
Speaking at the launch, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said the focus of the newly-launched programme is mainly geared towards manufacturing, industrialisation and inclusive economic growth.
The policy and the programme are a key part of government’s broad industrialisation initiatives to expand the industrial base and participation of black industrialists in manufacturing activities and the economy.
Minister Davies said the programme is designed to create a single forum to provide black industrialists with financial aid, non-financial support, market access and advice for those who are already trading in the manufacturing space.
The CEO of the National Empowerment Fund (NEF), Philisiwe Mthethwa, said in 2007 the agency established a strategic fund to unlock opportunities for black industrialists in the country.
“Even though the NEF has a very good balance sheet, we are not sitting on a pile of cash. We have 23 pipeline projects worth R2.7 billion to promote the Black Industrialists Policy and many other entrepreneurs keen to get involved in the manufacturing sector,” she said.
Minister Davies acknowledged that the programme was not designed to solve all problems or entertain passive shareholders. He said it is a step towards addressing and empowering black people in all sectors, specifically manufacturing.
“Manufacturing is one of the least empowered sectors and that is why we came up with the Black Industrialists Policy to increase the volume of black management and involvement in order for them to control the value chains and encourage others to come forward,” he said.
The Black Industrialists Programme offers a cost-sharing grant ranging from 30% to 50% to approved entities, to a maximum of R50 million. The quantum of the grant will depend on the level of black ownership and management control, the economic benefit of the project and the project value.
Potential black industrialists can visit www.thedti.gov.za to access the policy and application process. – SAnews.gov.za
