Changes to the B-BBEE landscape in 2021 [Opinion]

The lifeblood of our economy, South Africa’s Small and Medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are in trouble. 

The B-BBEE Codes need to change to protect and enable SME growth

Already suffering in a contracting economy, the ongoing shocks from Covid-19 has analysts predicting that 60% of SMEs will close before the crisis is over. Vital for job creation and growth, protecting SMEs during this period of economic turbulence is critical, but how do we do it?

Rajan Naidoo, Managing Director of EduPower Skills Academy believes that B-BBEE is the ideal vehicle to address South Africa’s Covid-19 related economic challenges.

“B-BBEE is a powerful and important mechanism for empowerment, transformation, and change and the ideal mechanism to help SMEs. Changes to the B-BBEE Codes will help resuscitate SMEs in the industries that have been severely punished by Covid-19 and ensure the sustainability of this critical sector,” he explains.

A vital engine in driving growth and creating employment, SMEs account for 98% of the total number of businesses in South Africa, employ 25% of the private sector workforce and contribute 39% to the national GDP. Reports however show that 40% of South Africa’s small businesses have already closed, contributing to the three million job losses recorded since March 2020.

“Covid-19 has caused huge job losses in an already job-deficient economy. Most of these have been through the collapse of small businesses or the scaling back of larger companies,” says Rajan.

This shedding of jobs by South Africa’s corporates is an indication of the impact Covid-19 has had on larger businesses. Due to their resources and reserves, most of these companies have weathered the storm with minimal damage. To preserve their established ecosystems, Rajan says these companies need to help the smaller businesses in their supply chains.

“Experts are predicting that over the next 12 months, B-BBEE will focus on strengthening the codes that request large corporates to “protect” the SMEs in their supply chains,” Rajan explains.

This protection may include early invoice payment, training, upskilling, consulting, loans or loan guarantee, wage or overhead support, assisting SMEs with cash flow. “Much of this protection is already in place but to provide the stimulation that SMEs need, we are expecting that the weighting of points under Preferential Procurement and Skills Development will change to further incentivise larger corporates to action,” Naidoo explains.

But what about those SME’s that are not part of a larger company supply chain? Rajan is confident that B-BBEE will also support these companies with the main focus being on training and consulting. “These interventions will help small business owners assess their sustainability options, leading to more prudent business decisions,” he says. 

Rajan believes that B-BBEE’s role in the development of SMEs will also help establish an environment that’s conducive for the local provision of medical supplies.

“One of our lessons from Covid-19 is that we were overly reliant on external supply chains for the provision of medical supplies including PPE, medication, ventilators, and vaccines. We have the intellectual and skills capacity to develop our own, but we haven’t had the economic and government support for this to flourish,” Naidoo explains.

“Government support is key to galvanidsing SMEs to develop in this sector. B-BBEE can and should therefore be used as a mechanism to create an environment that’s conducive for the local manufacture and supply of these items,” he adds.

While the creation of this sector will take time, it is critical that Government move quickly to help SMEs and Rajan expects that an announcement is imminent. He says the major focus of the code changes in the next few months will relate to job creation, skills development, and SME support with more weight being added to these priority elements.

Naidoo concludes: “When the pandemic will peak in South Africa is still uncertain. It is therefore imperative that efforts to protect SMEs through changes to the B-BBEE Codes move with speed and decisiveness, not only to cushion the worst of the impacts of the crisis on livelihoods but to ensure a swifter recovery for the broader economy.”

This article was written by Rajan Naidoo, Managing Director of EduPower Skills Academy.

Featured image: Rajan Naidoo, Managing Director or EduPower Skills Academy (Supplied)