The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is commitment to Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE), with all its business activities aligning with the national transformation agenda and thus complying with the B-BBEE Act 2003 and the Information Communications Technology (ICT) sector B-BBEE Codes. Currently, the SABC is a proud B-BBEE Level 3 entity. This achievement reflects a dedicated effort to empower black-owned businesses, foster entrepreneurship, create jobs, and drive economic growth.
The improvement in its B-BBEE score did not happen overnight, as the Corporation has experienced difficult trading conditions, which resulted in an unfortunate regression in the 2020 financial year. The factors that had led to the regression emanated from insufficient spend on skills development, enterprise and supplier development, and socio-economic Development.
However, the Corporation began to implement impactful and robust strategies, as well as bringing a focused approach, ensuring that by July 2024, the organisation had secured a Level 3 certificate after a rigorous verification process.
At the back of this great transformation, are the four key pillars that contributed to this transformation:
- Employment Equity and Management Control
- Ensuring increased black representation in key decision-making roles.
- Promoting black women to executive and board positions.
- Driving diversity and inclusion at all levels of management.
- Skills Development
- Investing in training and development for black employees, including those with disabilities.
- Fostering a pipeline of black professionals and technical experts.
- Strengthening internal capacity through best-practice HR and skills development policies.
- Socio-Economic Development (SED)
- Expanding impact-driven projects that benefit local communities.
- Delivering ICT-related initiatives to support underprivileged schools.
- Launching a computer handover program in KwaZulu Natal and Northwest, benefiting 100 black schools.
- Enterprise Development (ED)
- Driving enterprise and supplier development, despite financial constraints.
- Initiating the Radio Feature Program, offering free airtime to ICT companies to promote their businesses.
- Supporting contract negotiations and program briefings.
The organisation has embarked on an Enterprise Development Program, a strategic initiative that enhances the business skills and competitiveness of its beneficiaries. The program not only serves as a critical driver of transformation but also contributes meaningfully to the Enterprise Development element of the B-BBEE scorecard.
The SABC has also successfully embarked on an incubation programme with Gordon Institute Business School (GIBS) to support and develop entrepreneurial, business management and financial skills. The Corporation will also support 15 emerging businesses with laptops.
The SABC’s transformation is a testament to resilience, strategic planning, and an unwavering commitment to economic empowerment. It is against this backdrop that the SABC will continue to implement impactful strategies that will drive further improvements and strive to secure Level 2 status and beyond.
Phumzile Njoko, Head of Supply Chain Management
