The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in partnership with several non-profit industry organisations, namely the BITF, EIF, IISA, ITA and SAEEC, has developed a database of black economic empowered (BEE) companies in the IT, telecommunications and electronics (ICTE) sectors. Phase one of the project was funded by the DTI, the South African Electrotechnical Export Council (SAEEC) and the Electronics Industry Federation (EIF).
"The ICTE sector is a vibrant part of the South African economy," says Sar'e Grobler, DTI project manager: ICT and Electronics division, Trade and Investment South Africa. "Rapid growth in mobile and data communications and IT has spurred the sector to develop new and innovative applications, products and services. Key to the success of the sector are BEE companies, which bring fresh ideas to the market."
"One of the issues facing the ICTE sector is insufficient knowledge at industry and government level about the players within the industry," adds Eileen Leopold, executive director of SAEEC, a public private partnership to facilitate and support exports in the ITCE and electrical engineering sectors. "An overview of the relevant players as well as their areas of competence is imperative for further development of the industry."
According to Grobler, the database is a valuable tool to equip players in the ICTE sector to identify BEE partners, and develop new value chains. "It provides BEE companies with a powerful marketing platform to showcase their companies to both local and international players."
Additionally, says Leopold, the database also holds significant benefits for government, industry associations, and education and training organisations. "It provides a support tool for donor-funded match-making programmes, as well as an overview of export companies and their products and services. Ultimately, this will assist in the development of support strategies and programmes to support export marketing initiatives."
The BEE company database is freely available on the DTI's Web site, www.thedti.gov.za, and lists more than 250 small, medium and large BEE companies.
"250 BEE companies were qualified during phase one, based on the budget and time frame. It is acknowledged that this sample is not a complete reflection of the status of all South African BEE companies and that this will be addressed in the following project phases. What has been achieved is a firm foundation for developing a comprehensive and sustainable framework.
"The information that was submitted by the companies was verified and only those companies that completed this process were listed. The second phase of the project will concentrate on further expansion of the database to eventually include all South African SMME companies."
BEE companies that comply with the definition of BEE as part of this project are encouraged to forward their details to the DTI for inclusion on the database. A comprehensive definition of a BEE company, as well as an application form, is provided on the database Web site at www.thedti.co.za
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