ECIAfrica

Newsroom

ECIAfrica and USAID Launch Second Generation of South African International Business Linkages Programme

Author: ECIAfrica
Date: April 22, 2008

On 11 March 2008, ECIAfrica, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other partners launched SAIBL II, a three-year private sector competitiveness and productivity programme aimed at improving the capacity of black small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to participate in domestic and international markets. SAIBL II employs trade experts who help clients to increase productivity, improve corporate governance and management, and apply modern technology.

Under a new logo and motto, "partnership, growth, prosperity", SAIBL II was initiated by USAID and is implemented by the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), ECIAfrica and the National Business Initiative (NBI).

Held at Gallagher Estate in Johannesburg, the official launch event was opened by U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, Eric M. Bost. Mr. Tumelo Chipfupa, Deputy Director General of the Department of Trade and Industry (dti), gave the keynote address. Representatives of the U.S. Embassy and USAID, banks and large corporations, business member organisations, and black businessmen attended the launch and met some of the many entrepreneur beneficiaries of SAIBL.

Supported by USAID, in partnership with the dti, SAIBL II was awarded to the CCA consortium (CCA, ECIAfrica and NBI), following nearly 10 years of successfully implementing SAIBL I. The first phase of SAIBL achieved remarkable results, including having assisted more than 3,000 SMEs to gain access to mainstream commercial markets in South Africa and internationally. These SMEs generated more than R10 billion in total sales, and more than R800 million in exports, as well as created more than 16,000 new jobs for South Africans.

SAIBL II will focus much more on creating sustainable linkages and partnerships, involving a growing number of competitive black enterprises and corporations, under the Enterprise Linkage Initiative-a business network led by corporations to establish and institutionalize enterprise development and business linkages. SAIBL II will create a reliable database of more than 1,000 linkage-ready, certified black economic empowerment (BEE) firms, provide access to a pool of competent and affordable business service providers nationwide, and promote private and public programmes to support BEE in targeted industry clusters.

"SAIBL II provides a unique programme aimed at building on the initiatives of South African corporations in supporting black enterprise development through business linkages as a sound business strategy and not a compliance issue" said John James, Chief of Party for SAIBL. "It is founded on the premise that a diverse base of suppliers, that reflects the diversity of customers and communities that corporations serve, contributes to customer loyalty and stimulates economic growth."

For more information on SAIBL II, please contact Divine Rapoo at divine.rapoo@eciafrica.com, or visit the SAIBL website at www.saibl.co.za.

Return to Newsroom