TRANSFORMATION AND BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
The South African wine industry views transformation and the development of people as key imperatives to ensuring a strong, sustainable future, and has put measures in place to effect transformation and development, while verifying progress towards this vision.
Over the past decade, industry bodies have initiated strategies, structures and funding to facilitate enterprise development, effective learning, as well as social investment initiatives, which are reaping noticeable rewards.
The SA Wine Industry Transformation Unit NPC (SAWITU) was incorporated in 2016 with a fully dedicated operational division established in February 2019.
In partnership with the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC), the industry has recently revised its processes behind meeting the statutory requirement of spending 20% of statutory levies collected on transformation related initiatives. The recent revisions place funds and programmes under the management of SAWITU. Nearly R100 million has been invested in transformation programmes over the past four years, focusing on enterprise development, skills development and socio-economic development in agreed proportions.
SAWITU provides support to approximately 65 black-owned wine enterprises and approximately 60 wine grape farmers.
These enterprises and farms are being supported with mentorship programmes, market access opportunities, show/ exhibition support, business finance, skills development and technical assistance.
Wine industry black empowerment initiatives are dedicated towards linking businesses, black graduates and professionals with opportunities in the industry.
SAWITU’s website, www.witu.co.za, provides details on programme progress, how the organisation functions and how assistance can be accessed.
South Africa Wine Transformation & People Development
The Transformation & People Development department at South Africa Wine is dedicated to fostering equity, sustainability, and inclusivity within the wine industry.
Through allocating a significant portion of its levy income, the department supports enterprise development programmes tailored explicitly for black-owned wine-grape producers and brand owners, aiming to create opportunities for their active participation throughout the wine value chain. As an industry transformation advisory, this division provides policy and strategic guidance to steer the South African wine industry towards sustainable socio-economic transformation.
Its people development strategy encourages a growing learning culture, a growing industry, and job security. It establishes a well-thought-through and supportive learning culture that contributes to productivity and creates an industry representative of South Africa’s demographics. Collaborating closely with industry partners, the People Development division addresses training needs. A core focus lies on people and skills development, encompassing initiatives to attract, retain, and empower talent.
Ultimately, the department endeavours to cultivate a more inclusive and sustainable wine industry where all stakeholders can thrive and contribute to its long-term success.
Kindly visit the website for more information: www.sawine.co.za
Revised Agri BEE codes
On 8 December 2017, the department of Trade and Industry (DTI) promulgated a set of revised AgriBEE sector codes. Sector Codes are descriptions of categories against which progress is benchmarked and reported for private and government owned enterprises. Enterprises which derive their income primarily from the agricultural value chain are independently audited against these codes on an annual basis. Details of these codes and their relevance to the sub sectors are available online at https://bbbeecommission.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/AgriBEE-Final-08Dec2017.pdf.
Similarly, enterprises in the wine industry which derive the bulk of their income from tourism, would consult the DTI’s Tourism sector codes which work in a similar vein.