BFM rolls out plans
Forum plans to roll-out Black Industrialists Programme throughout the province.
SECUNDA – The Black Managers Forum recently held its roadshow at the Graceland Casino to create awareness among the public about the Black Industrialists Programme initiated by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
They want to create a networking platform and nurture a long-lasting relationship between black industrialists, corporations and government and they want to ensure that the empowerment goals between corporations and government are aligned and made public.
The forum is an independent non-governmental initiative dedicated to placing black managers on an equal footing with managers from other backgrounds and environments and thereby cultivating attitudes, beliefs, motivations and competencies in both black and white managers and business leaders, which will be conducive to the profitable growth of the Southern African economy.
Mr Jan Maswanganyi, BMF Mpumalanga chairman, said the DTI has developed a Black Industrialists Programme that aims at unlocking the potential within black industrialists that operate in the South African economy through deliberate, targeted and well-defined financial and non-financial interventions.
He said the detailed plan for this programme is clearly articulated in the DTI Industrial Policy Action Plan 2015 and DTI Strategic Plan 2015/2020 which were both approved by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies.
Mr Maswanganyi said BMF supports this programme and has decided to include its implementation as part of the provincial BMF goals.
“The Mpumalanga BMF plans to roll-out this Black Industrialists Programme throughout the whole province and the programme will be rolled out in the following manner:
“We will hold quarterly evaluation sessions to measure progress on set targets. These quarterly sessions will be held at different municipalities across the province.
“BMF will hold feedback sessions with government and corporations every six months to evaluate set targets. The first feedback session will be held in Nelspruit in the first half of 2017.
“A list of all the current and potential black entrepreneurs in Mpumalanga will be compiled and the development of these entrepreneurs will be tracked to ensure their businesses grow and contribute towards the local, provincial and national economy.”
The Mpumalanga BMF plans to liaise with the respective local economic development managers and local municipalities in the province to develop action plans targeted at ensuring that the Black Industrialists Programme is realised.
These plans with be localised per municipality to ensure that they are relevant and actionable.
