Johannesburg, 01 Jul 2016
The South African market place presents the business owner with a unique playing field. Black Economic Empowerment is one unique factor that companies need to adhere to in order to facilitate business dealings with certain types of enterprises. At Phase 2 360 we are BEE certified as part of a governed requirement within SA. This is a must for any company who wishes to trade freely, but we also need to look at the reasons and the humanity behind the law.
The sad reality is that, most SMEs do the minimum to get their certificate and then forget about the reasoning behind it. Economic empowerment is sometimes twisted where the rich get richer and the people who really need the help are forgotten.
I believe that each company in South Africa has a moral responsibility to their staff, shareholders and to their fellow countrymen. If every business had to sit down and not give money away in the form of donations or blind generosity, we could really make a difference. The old saying of: "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, give him a fishing rod and he will be fed for life" is something to consider.
Aside from the regulatory requirements we believe in finding and empowering the right people and the right causes. Empowerment is not just a financial concept but can also be promoted through knowledge and experience. Having the initial hunger to gain this knowledge and experience must also be a strong prerequisite from the student and not be taken for granted.
Through the years we have offered apprenticeships and learnerships for technical staff. In addition to this, we believe in empowering worthy persons through strategic relationships or clients. Recently we donated three laptops to the value of R20k to the Abreal group who are mentoring three students by sponsoring their university studies and then offering them employment in the group upon their successful completion of their studies. The said sponsorships are truly inspirational to most as, despite their many obstacles and enormous difficulties, they persevered through their studies and never gave up on their hopes and aspirations. Thus, each one of them have moved on to acquire degrees and exemptions in their studies! This is truly applaudable and worthy of the help so willingly given. It was never just expected or assumed. I am sure that I can speak for most other business owners out there when I say that it is then a great honour to be able to help make dreams come true. Dreams that most likely, would have not become a reality, if it weren't for the SME's and their partners who can and who DO make it a possibility.
We are proud to be part of these selfless and empowering opportunities.
If you have a worthy empowerment opportunity or learnership please contact me directly.
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