Development Programme (BBSDP) Awards
22 October 2007
The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) has announced that it will create
greater national awareness about the Black Business Supplier Development
Programme (BBSDP) by presenting the BBSDP Achiever Awards to celebrate the
success of the programme.
By the end of March 2007 the BBSDP had approved 2 091 applicants, with
projects for enterprise improvement worth over R97 million and about R56
million paid as grants approved applicants. Over 60% of the grants approved
were for promotional marketing materials, followed by software development with
17%. Although small in volumes, other activities such as quality improvement,
processes and product improvement have been assessed to have significant impact
on assisted enterprises.
Gauteng accounts for over 70% of the approved applicants followed by
Mpumalanga with 7% and Western Cape with 6%. The take-up from other provinces
is poor and therefore requires attention as the programme is continued. The
programme is mostly utilised within the sector of business services,
representing 60% of the total grants approved followed by construction with 16%
and manufacturing 12%.
The awards recognise the successes of enterprises that have excelled in
business. It is an opportunity to share information and experiences, forge
partnerships and endeavour to replicate successful initiatives. At the same
time, it is underlines the encouragement that the grant offers to small
business to establish start-ups and aim for greater competitiveness.
Categories for awards:
* ability to market and promote the enterprise
* promoting greater efficiency by employing better quality management
systems
* ability of the enterprise to enter target markets
* promoting greater efficiency by training employees in specific business
skills
* projects to upgrade management of enterprise through generic training
programmes.
The BBSDP was launched in 2002. It is an 80:20% cost sharing grant scheme
that supports black-owned enterprises in South Africa. It provides such
enterprises with access to business development services to assisting them with
improving core competencies, upgrading managerial capabilities and
restructuring their processes for greater competitiveness.
Qualifying criteria:
* enterprises that are majority black owned (51%) and have significant
representation of blacks in the management team
* enterprises with a maximum annual turnover of R12 million per annum
* a key criterion for eligibility is that the enterprise must have a minimum
trading history of one year
* if the enterprise is registered for less than a year, but has been operating
previously, the following proof must be submitted: (registration with local
municipality and VAT registration)
* enterprises accessing the scheme must also comply with commercial regulatory
requirements applicable to their areas of business, e.g. registration with
Company and Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro) and South African
Revenue Service (SARS).
Objectives:
* fast tracking existing small medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) that
show potential for growth into the mainstream of the formal economy
* growing black owned enterprises by fostering linkages between black SMMEs and
the corporate and public sector enterprises
* complements current affirmative procurement and outsourcing initiatives of
corporate and public sector enterprises
* enhancing the capacity of grant recipient enterprises to successfully compete
for corporate and public sector tenders and outsourcing opportunities.
For more information contact:
Sisanda Jonas
Tel: 012 394 1680
Cell: 073 265 5269
E-mail: sjonas@thedti.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Trade and Industry
22 October 2007
