Cell C has been awarded Level 2 B-BBEE status, up from the Level 3 status that it attained last year.
The company has staunchly maintained its scoring in the enterprise and supplier development, socio-economic development, and skills development categories, while improving in management control.
Cell C continues to identify and support incorporating SMEs and emerging enterprises into its overall value chain. In 2019 the company launched the Innovation Challenge, aimed at partnering with SMEs working on innovative ideas giving them financial support, mentorship and the chance to work with Cell C as a supplier. The initial round of pitches saw a raft of young startups receive funding and the Innovation Challenge programme continues into 2020, putting out the call for more entries.
Cell C continues to support the Youth Employment Service (YES) initiative – a joint effort between government and the private sector with the aim of providing skills training and employment for local youth – but has also entered into several new partnerships and initiated new programmes aimed at empowering South African learners and entrepreneurs. These include support for the Explore Data Science Academy, which focusses on the youth development and employment creation.
Cell C continues to empower women in the work place through its Take a Girl Child to Work Day programme, which has been bolstered by its #MoreThanADay initiative (increasing corporate hosting of girl learners from a single day to three) and the CellCgirl online platform that has made the initiative’s tools and information available online to both boy and girl learners.
Internally, Cell C’s Disability Learnership initiative entered its third year. Introduced in 2017, the Learnership is aimed at ensuring workplace inclusivity to members of Cell C’s work force living with disabilities (which stands at 1.5%) and developing their skill set. This year the Disability Learnership is focusing on developing ICT skills, with learners completing the National Certificate Telecommunications System Support.
“We are incredibly excited and proud about the achievement,” says Juliet Mhango, Cell C’s human capital and transformation chief. “We remain dedicated in our approach to transformation that goes beyond a BBBEE rating as well as committed to making a difference to South Africa, by ensuring sustainable transformation.
“Cell C’s Level 2 B-BBEE rating is a clear indication that we are improving immensely in transforming the business and increasing diversity in the workplace,” says Mhango. “As a proudly South African corporate citizen, Cell C feels its responsibility is paramount to make a difference in both the business and social landscapes and to empower as many of this country’s future leaders as we can.”