The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies is confident that the group of 27 black industrialists whose projects have been approved for funding under the Black Industrialists Incentive Scheme will succeed in contributing to the country's radical economic transformation, economic growth and job creation.

“To date the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) has approved R577 million in grants for 27 black industrialist projects with additional forms of loan and equity financing being provided to the grant recipients by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), the National Empowerment Fund (NEF), the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and the Land Bank. The companies are expected to create 5 235 direct jobs and 1 228 indirect jobs as a result of the funding. Some of the sectors that received the bulk of the projected investments are plastics and pharmaceuticals, metals and agro-processing,” says Minister Davies.

The scheme is part of the Black Industrialists Programme which aims to promote the participation of black industrialists as manufacturers in key sectors of the South African economy as identified in the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP).

“When we established the Black Industrialists Programme we indicated that we were initiating a process of accelerating the quantitative and qualitative increase and participation of black manufacturers in the national economy, selected industrial sectors and value chains. I am confident that companies whose funding has been approved will be exemplary and succeed in contributing meaningfully to government’s objectives as outlined in IPAP and National Development Plan. These include economic growth, radical economic transformation, job creation, industrialisation, eradicating poverty and redressing inequality,” says Minister Davies. 

He adds that in line with driving radical economic transformation, the Black Industrialists Policy approved by Cabinet in November 2015 calls to leverage the state's capacity to unlock the industrial potential that exists within black-owned and managed businesses that operate within the South African economy through deliberate, targeted and well-defined financial and non-financial interventions.

“This policy emphasises a need for government departments and State-Owned Companies to set targeted procurement for the promotion of black industrialists in the manufacturing sectors, and also for private sector to explore collaborations with government to assist black industrialists with sustainable procurement opportunities,” says Davies.

the dti is already engaging with retail and automotive sectors to localise several commodities, to be manufactured by black industrialists, and work will continue to target other key sectors in the economy to do the same.

“We therefore make a call to the private sector to collaborate and work with government to ensure meaningful transformation in the key manufacturing sectors of the economy. In line with radical economic transformation, government will ensure that key policies are amended and aligned to the Black Industrialists Policy, in order to enable meaningful transformation,” adds Davies.

Issued by Department of Trade and Industry