In recognition of entrepreneurship month, SAB reiterates its commitment to driving inclusive growth in our communities by increasing women entrepreneurs in order to make a meaningful contribution to economic recovery and growth
This month, SAB celebrates entrepreneurship month by raising a glass to all entrepreneurs across its value chain. As part of its recent ESG strategy launch, SAB established entrepreneurship as a key priority that seeks to support social innovators, farmers, retailers and SMEs by driving growth through several empowerment interventions for women-owned businesses in townships and rural areas by 2025.
In a country with the highest unemployment rate in its history, entrepreneurs have an opportunity to play a significant role in helping address the unemployment problem in South Africa, but this can only be fulfilled if these entrepreneurs receive adequate support. Through its various entrepreneurial programmes, SAB and its Foundation provide a continuous journey of support for entrepreneurs where they have been able to access business skills development, tailored mentorship, and assistance with access to markets and finance, in order to enable business owners to reach their true potential. To date, over R534 million in grant funding, business development support and interest-free loans to 5 229 entities between 2015 and 2022, of these beneficiaries, 90% come from rural areas and 70% are women.
Through tenacity and sheer will, South Africans have been able to witness entrepreneurs from different walks of live change their lives and that of their communities through the SAB Foundations’ Social Innovation and Disability Empowerment & SAB Sharp Awards , which recently awarded 29 social innovators with grant funding and business development support for their various enterprises.
In celebration of our innovative entrepreneurs, we raise a glass to first place winner of the awards and founder of Uku’hamba Prosthetics and Orthotics, Sibongile Mongadi. She will be investing the R1 300 000 grant funding in her business by leverages digital technology for faster production, better fit, sustainability and affordability of prosthetics and orthotics for less privileged amputees and those with physical disabilities. As a young female entrepreneur, Sibongile is a strong advocate for transforming and driving change in communities and her initiative Soweto Young Women Empowerment has touched over 200 lives.
As it has for many years, SAB continues to drive economic inclusion and enable growing communities in a thriving society, this is sentiment is demonstrated through the work of another social innovator, Tsholofelo Ramokoka, founder of Addressdox, who created a digital platform that supplies people from rural communities with no formal address with a proof of residence document. This online platform enables rurally based individuals to self-register their address via WhatsApp for approval by local authorities. This solution serves to prevent identity fraud that limits employment and business opportunities for people living in rural areas.
Through the Social Innovation and Disability Empowerment Awards programme, the SAB Foundation has invested over R73 million in funding and business development support, to help 143 social innovators. Each innovator focuses on solving a social problem in the sectors such as housing, healthcare, education, social services, disability, energy, water and sanitation, community safety and security, agriculture, recycling, and financial inclusion.
“This is a special month for all entrepreneurs who have been able to endure through various obstacles and we want to see them flourish into bigger and better enterprises that will stimulate local socio-economic activities beyond their current areas of operation.” Says SAB’s Corporate Affairs Vice President, Zoleka Lisa
Entrepreneurs remain the backbone of driving growth in the economy across various sectors and SAB is a proudly committed to creating hope for the future and accelerating inclusive growth across our value chain which will have a long-lasting and highly positive impact.
