Sage is accelerating its investment in small black-owned businesses in South Africa by committing an additional R9,2-million to interest-free loans to small ICT businesses.
This commitment builds on the R18-million already invested over the past three years as part of its Enterprise and Supplier Development Programme (ESD).
The initiative, powered by Sage’s partnership with Aurik Enterprise Development since April 2020, forms part of Sage’s sustainability and society strategy and is focused on extending an opportunity to marginalised entrepreneurs.
Over the past four years, more than 40 South African Black-owned exempted micro enterprises (EMEs) and qualifying small enterprises (QSEs), have been supported to become Sage Business partners. These include implementation partners, resellers and independent software vendors (ISVs). To progress them to the next stage of development, Sage also provides financial support, mentoring and coaching.
“With the unemployment rate at nearly 33%, job creation is an urgent imperative for South Africa. Our ESD programme supports the National Development Plan’s objectives of reducing unemployment by nurturing the small business sector,” says Pieter Bensch, MD and executive vice-president at Sage Africa & Middle East.
“Opportunities to succeed aren’t always equal. Therefore, improving economic inclusion is a proven route to stability, wealth creation, and well-being. By providing entrepreneurs with access to mentoring, training and capital, we aim to help them seize the opportunity to start and scale a business,” adds Bensch.
In 2021, Sage provided R18 million in interest-free loans worth to EMEs and QSEs that are at least 51% Black-owned. Five of the businesses that Sage initially supported are now registered on the Sage Marketplace and the remaining 11 businesses are on track to start repaying their interest-free loans. Following the success of the initial cohort, Sage plans to add six more businesses to the programme in the current financial year.
“The funding from Sage and the business development support provided by Aurik have been game changers for DreamzTech Solutions. With Sage’s financial backing, we were able to invest in critical technology integrations and expand our product lines, which directly boosted our ability to serve more clients efficiently. Aurik’s consulting helped us refine our business processes and sharpen our sales strategies, ultimately helping us build an asset of value. Together, they gave us the push we needed to grow steadily and build a stronger, more competitive company,” says Simo Mchunu, chief operating officer at DreamzTech Solutions.
As part of the partnership and offering, 29 businesses were chosen for specialist mentoring and coaching from Sage and Aurik. Additionally, Sage recruited another 20 businesses to join the business partner ecosystem and the ISV programme for a period of 12 to 18 months.
“The SMEs were empowered to strengthen businesses, expand their customer base, and scale their operations sustainably. All 29 businesses completed the programme, with average turnover rising by 36% and average profitability increasing by 375%. An average of two jobs were created by the businesses within the programme over four years, says Faith Ramusetheli, transformation director at Sage Africa, and Middle East.
“We understand that poor access to capital, mentoring and training continues to be a major barrier to growth for EMEs and QSEs owned by underserved entrepreneurs in South Africa. We are therefore proud of the work our team has done to strengthen our network of EME and QSE business partners spanning independent software vendors (ISVs), software sales, software training and software implementation,” Ramusetheli adds.
Andisiwe Jack Ngcwembe, business development manager at Aurik Enterprise Development, concludes: “Building businesses into ‘Assets of Value’ that serve their owners as well as their clients, is key to building a thriving, inclusive economy. Working with a partner like Sage, who shares this belief that impacting on businesses is key to positively impacting the country, is a privilege and we are proud of the work we have achieved together.”