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Six black industrialists’ plans get the nod

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Six business plans – submitted as part of the department of trade and industry’s Black Industrialist Programme – have been approved since the incentive’s launch earlier this year. The programme aims to spearhead economic transformation in the manufacturing industry.

“This will have an estimated economic spin-off of R500 million, with 1 300 jobs to be created,” said programme director Mzwakhe Lubisi.

“The successful applications include ventures in electronic equipment production and agricultural processing.”

Those that are approved will receive government assistance in the form of loans and grants.

We are not only looking for manufacturers, but also champions in the industry who are willing to take risks and transform the economy

Lubisi said the programme’s uptake had been strong, but they were taking their time to assess the applications.

“There have been loads of challenges,” he told a Black Industrialist Stakeholder Engagement meeting, hosted at the University of Cape Town, on Wednesday.

“We have had suspicious fronting, where people lodge applications based on the old mentality of black economic empowerment ... We have seen proposed transactions that will not improve anything in our economy.

“We saw many proposals where people were not very honest and frank with us, so this compelled us to vet everything properly and with due diligence, prompting us to spend an ample amount of time checking each transaction.”

Lubisi added that Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies would soon release a comprehensive report detailing progress made on the programme.

“It is a complex, broad programme with many funders, and comprehensive feedback will be given by the minister in September,” said Lubisi.

The programme – for which government has pledged R1 billion to identify 100 major black industrialists – was launched in February after receiving approval from Cabinet in October last year.

Davies said that they were looking for businesspeople with “a high level of potential in the manufacturing sector”.

The minister added: “This will help us identify the best and take them forward in the manufacturing space.

“We are not only looking for manufacturers, but also champions in the industry who are willing to take risks and transform the economy.”

The Black Business Council claims credit for having come up with the “black industrialist” concept, which became part of government jargon in 2012.

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