Samsung’s continued investment in South Africa and its support for economic transformation has contributed to the company’s level-1 B-BBEE status for five consecutive years.
The company is augmenting its transformation policies through employment equity, enterprise development and investment in education; building on its landmark multi-millionaire Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (EEIP), which is already celebrating over three years of sustained success.
Launched in May 2019, Samsung’s EEIP programme is expected to have a measurable impact on job creation with a projected contribution of over a billion rands to the South African economy. Samsung’s 10-year plan aims to address key developmental aspects linked to the National Development Plan and the overall transformation of the local economy.
The company’s EEIP programme has seen an investment in black, female-owned entities operating in the full value chain of e-Waste. It also has a strong focus on enterprise development and capacity building in ICT through scarce skills development.
When Samsung entered South Africa at the dawn of democracy; it placed great focus on the power of technology and innovation to effect positive change. Since then, has made incredible strides in developing 4IR skills in partnership with a number of higher learning institutions.
The company has launched many skills development initiatives, not only for internal employees, but also supporting university students studying in allied fields. With wide-ranging support of the country’s youth through bursaries, learnerships and the Samsung Engineering Academy programme, South African youth are gaining artisanal and electronics skills.
Solve for Tomorrow
The Solve for Tomorrow competition is a Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (Stem) aligned educational programme that encourages learners in grade 10 and 11 from underserved communities an opportunity to gain invaluable skills. Recently launched, this competition is being piloted in 51 schools across the country. Learners are encouraged to use Stem to find solutions to some of the most pressing societal challenges faced by their communities.
The Samsung Innovation Campus programme partners with universities of technology to develop and teach coding, software development, internet of things (IOT) and artificial intelligence (AI) skills to youth from under-serviced communities.
Hlubi Shivanda – business operations and innovation and corporate affairs director at Samsung South Africa said: “This incredible achievement of the level 1–B-BBEE Rating for five consecutive years is a re-affirmation of Samsung’s commitment to prioritising B-BBEE as a non-negotiable practice within our businesses. The overarching goal of the country’s B-BBEE programme is the upliftment of the South African economy. As Samsung, we have over the years focused on policies that are designed to empower South Africans in meaningful ways. Our vision for the country is therefore closely aligned with the Government’s B-BBEE policy.”
Samsung’s transformation efforts are a clear indication of the company’s contribution to the achievement of the country’s overall B-BBEE goals. The key focus areas of Samsung’s overall B-BBEE philosophy and strategy are centred on the following:
- The annual progression of race and gender representation at each occupational level, with specific emphasis on African representation.
- Increased focus on both employed learners and unemployed learners, by creating work experiences post the learnership/internship period – and over and above Samsung’s EEIP commitments;
- Provision of education support through bursaries, both internally and externally.
- Continued focus on development of black talent in the Samsung South Africa business.
- Re-directing existing spend to qualifying Black-Owned and Black-Women Owned Qualifying Small Enterprises (“QSEs”) and Exempt Micro Enterprises (“EMEs”) to include them in the existing procurement value chain – in marketing, services, sales, logistics and recruitment.
- Provision of grant and preferential loan funding to qualifying Enterprise Development beneficiaries, with the possibility of graduating them to become suppliers to Samsung South Africa.
- Qualifying entities may be provided with grant and preferential loan funding; and
- Education-focused socio-economic development initiatives through the Samsung Innovation Campus and Solve For Tomorrow competition umbrella as a commitment to the upliftment of underserved communities.
“Samsung knows that it is no small responsibility to realise the country’s long-term goals as this requires collective effort from citizens, corporate organisations and government. At Samsung, we believe that transformation is a business imperative and a requirement for the sustainability of our business. However, we are also convinced that concerted transformation efforts can have incredible socio-economic impact and lasting change in the country’s economy,” added Shivanda.
About Samsung Electronics
Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems, memory, system LSI, foundry and LED solutions. For the latest news, please visit the Samsung newsroom at https://news.samsung.com/za/.
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