Strategic Partnership Spotlight: NEAT Supports SASDC Academy and Project EMBRACE
The South African Supplier Diversity Council (SASDC) is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with NEAT, a leading innovator in video collaboration technology, to enhance the delivery of training and engagement within the SASDC Academy and Project EMBRACE.
As part of this collaboration, NEAT has sponsored a training and conference solution that will strengthen our digital learning platforms and create more inclusive and accessible spaces for knowledge exchange. Designed specifically for Zoom and Microsoft Teams environments, NEAT’s technology enables seamless, human-centric virtual interaction that aligns with the SASDC’s vision of scalable, technology-enabled development.
This partnership directly supports the objectives of the SASDC Academy, which serves as the skills development and enterprise capability-building hub for Black-owned suppliers within our network. It also enhances the implementation of Project EMBRACE—a flagship supplier diversity programme aimed at economically mainstreaming Black women and youth through access to green economy value chains.
Together, SASDC and NEAT are building a stronger ecosystem of support—one that fosters equitable participation, expands supplier access, and accelerates sustainable, inclusive growth.
We thank NEAT for its investment in transformation and shared commitment to amplifying impact through collaboration.
Learn more about SASDC and Project EMBRACE at: www.sasdc.org.za
Sasol and SASDC Forge Strategic Partnership to Empower Black Women in the Green Economy
Sasol and SASDC Forge Strategic Partnership to Empower Black Women in the Green Economy
Johannesburg, South Africa – 18 June 2025 – In a landmark move to advance inclusive economic growth and environmental sustainability, Sasol, the South African Supplier Diversity Council (SASDC), and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH have formalised a strategic partnership through the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to launch Project Embrace — SASDC’s flagship supplier diversity initiative.
The collaboration aims to drive the participation of Black-owned and diverse suppliers in South Africa’s mainstream economy by enabling inclusive and sustainable value chains. A cornerstone of this initiative is the Women in Green (WIG) Business Development Programme, which is designed to equip Black women entrepreneurs with the tools, training, and market access necessary to thrive in traditionally male-dominated green economy sectors, including renewable energy, waste management, and green construction.
Key Highlights:
Strategic & Technical Partnership: Sasol joins as a strategic partner, leveraging its industry leadership to support transformation, while GIZ serves as a technical partner through its regional Employment Promotion for Women for the Green Transformation in Africa – WE4D Programme, bringing global development expertise.
Empowering Black Women Entrepreneurs: WIG will support 30 Black women-led businesses through a virtual incubator focused on green supply chain management, project management, innovation, and certification readiness in collaboration with EWSETA.
Capacity Building & Market Access: Project Embrace will offer mentorship, enterprise development, and direct access to procurement networks, ensuring businesses are better positioned to participate in local and global value chains.
Inclusive Economic Impact: By combining SASDC’s network of 1,100+ certified Black-owned businesses, Sasol’s corporate influence, and GIZ’s development insight, the partnership will strengthen supplier governance and unlock new commercial opportunities across the South African economy.
“Today marks a pivotal step in our commitment to championing diversity and inclusion, particularly in the green economy,” said Rightwell Laxa, Senior Vice President: Corporate Affairs at Sasol. “Through Project Embrace and the WIG programme, we are empowering Black women and youth to lead and innovate in sustainable industries. This is about transforming markets and mindsets.”
Gary Joseph, CEO of SASDC, added: “We are proud to partner with Sasol and GIZ to bring Project Embrace to life. This initiative not only strengthens our vision of inclusive value chains but also creates meaningful, measurable impact where it matters most — at the intersection of transformation, sustainability, and enterprise growth.”
Join the Movement
If your organisation would like to be part of the supplier diversity movement and drive equitable growth through inclusive value chains, visit https://www.sasdc.org.za/index.php/special-projects/project-embrace or contact info@sasdc.org.za.
About the Partners
SASDC
A corporate-led non-profit, the South African Supplier Diversity Council promotes supplier diversity as a strategy for economic competitiveness and transformation. Its programs support Black-owned businesses through certification, development, and corporate linkages.
Sasol
A global chemicals and energy company, Sasol is committed to sustainability, innovation, and inclusive economic participation. Sasol actively supports enterprise and supplier development across its areas of operation.
GIZ
Commissioned by the German government, GIZ implements sustainable development projects in over 120 countries. WE4D is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ); co-funded by the European Union through regional and bilateral Team Europe Initiatives (TEIs) and Norway. In South Africa, GIZ’s WE4D programme promotes employment for women in the green transformation — perfectly aligned with the goals of Project Embrace. The partnership also contributes to the Investing in Young Businesses in Africa- Supporting Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Development programme, supported by the European Union, co-funded by Germany, France, and Slovakia, through the Team Europe Initiative. IYBA-SEED is implemented by five agencies: Expertise France (France), Enabel (Belgium), GIZ (Germany), SAIDC (Slovakia) and SNV (Netherlands), in 5 partner countries: Benin, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa and Togo.
NATIONAL WOMEN'S MONTH
We support women empowerment
and participation in our economy
National Women's Day South Africa is celebrated annually on the 9th of August. On this day, South Africa commemorates the day on which 20,000 women of colour marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest against amendments to the Apartheid laws.
We should, not just in August or March or May, but on a daily basis, recognise and celebrate women for their outstanding achievements, in spite of the divisions and persisting challenges such as gender based violence, poverty, inequality and limited access to equal opportunity that they also face on a daily basis.
Whilst it would be far better if these challenges didn’t exist completely, the fact they do, necessitates the need to become aware of them and address them. The most important thing is that as a collective we edge ever closer to addressing and eliminating these challenges.
As the SASDC, we have helped strengthen and support for women’s rights by creating opportunity for them to participate in the economy.
We have asked some of our corporate and supplier members as well as our staff, to share what what women’s day means to them. Some elaborate on the importance of this day, others offer valuable insights on how we can or are tackling these challenges on a daily basis.
#BlackSuppliersMatter #WomenEmpowermentMatters
#NationalWomen’sDay2021
SASDC facilitates linkages to create strategic partnerships that support black business inclusion
According to a report released by McKinsey Group, SMEs across South Africa represent more than 98 percent of businesses, employ between 50 and 60 percent of the country’s workforce across all sectors, and are responsible for a quarter of job growth in the private sector. Formal SMEs contribute up to 40% of national income. The importance of SMEs is even higher when informal SMEs are included. One can safely say, SMEs are crucial to meeting the challenges of unemployment, inequality and transformation.
For the past decade, the South African Supplier Diversity Council has recognised the vital role black business can play in supporting the National Development Plan for 2030. As such, the SASDC has made it our mission to facilitate linkages between certified black owned businesses and corporate members who support this cause of creating a diverse, transformed and inclusive economy. To this end, the SASDC provides a host of different advisory and implementation services to its corporate members for enabling supplier diversity in its supply chains and unlocking procurement opportunities for black businesses.
Swift Worldwide Logistics proves its international mettle and does the SASDC proud
7th May 2021- Today, the South African Supplier Diversity Council (SASDC) would like to congratulate Swift Worldwide Logistics, a proudly South African Freight Forwarding company with level-1 B-BBEE compliance on successfully partnering with BBC Chartering to move equipment, that will be fitted onto what will become, the world’s largest diamond recovery vessel in the world.
Last week, the multipurpose heavy-lift vessel BBC PEARL, operated by BBC Chartering, successfully loaded two tower units and accompanying accessories in the Port of Tallinn, Estonia. Swift Worldwide Logistics entrusted the German multipurpose and heavy shipping specialist BBC Chartering with the transport of this equipment weighing a total of 423 metric tons from Estonia to South Africa.
The Yellow Brick Road to Empowerment is paved with good “intentions”
How fronting, by form, defeats the substance of B-BBEE
By Sibusiso Mtsetfwa, Manager of Member Services at the South African Supplier Diversity Council
I recently came across a “transformed” 51% Black-owned company who flashed their Level-2 Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) credentials to all and sundry as they continued to stand in the front of the line successfully winning tenders and retaining contracts with large corporations that they did business with prior to their “B-BBEE transformation”.
I say “transformed”, because upon closer investigation, their status comes from the 51% shareholding held by a “creatively” registered trust for black employees of the business. The 49% white shareholders and directors are also the trustees of the trust while the black employees, as beneficiaries, do not have any veto rights or say in the running or decision-making of the trust. In this case, the actual decision-makers and profit-takers remain white and could now find economic benefit that has flowed through to the trust, since inception more than five years ago.
Reimagining transformation to make
supplier diversity and inclusion possible
By Gary Joseph – CEO of the South African Supplier Diversity Council
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the world: governments, business leaders, citizens into unimaginable transformation. No matter who you are, where you are from, what you do, you have not remained untouched or unaffected by this pandemic which has threatened humankind’s existence.
In South Africa, one of the most unequal countries in the world, degrees of struggle each individual faces now, is exacerbated by a confluence of inadequate economic growth, widespread unemployment, sharp inequalities, low levels of fixed investment and frail levels of social capital.
Cumulatively, these are having a devastating impact on the living standards, safety, education and health of our people. And whilst some suffer far greater than a privileged few, the truth is - unless action is taken to alleviate this inequality in our economy and society – even the privileged few are doomed to suffer hardship down the line.
GLOBAL NEWS UPDATES
South Africa is at a cross-road –
one path is leading to crisis and another
opportunity.
It is up to each of us to play our part in reimagining a new world order. As the SASDC, we are in the business of making doing business with black suppliers better because we believe that #BlackSuppliersMatter. As such, we need to reimagine ways to make black business an inclusive part of our economy if we are to realise real positive change in our country by way of job creation, poverty alleviation and equality.
We found the recent @BusinessDay article interesting as it gives food for thought on the work still needed to be done to reach our NDP 2030 targets. Truth is, it is up to all of us to play our part in getting there.
Read here:
We encourage corporate members to join the SASDC. Every partnership gets us an inch closer to achieving on our mission of supplier diversity and inclusion in our supply chains.
Good Health is Good Business
Here at the SASDC, we encourage employers and their employees to implement practices, which keep their physical and mental fitness sharp throughout their working day.
https://fourwellness.co/blog/workplace-wellness-10-tips-for-good-health-at-work
What
adjustments have you made or are
needing to make in your business to operate
during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Mckinsey & Co. published an article about the impact of covid-19, how businesses can benefit from working remotely and how to see the pandemic as an opportunity for businesses to grow. As the SASDC, we offer training, certification and business related services to support businesses with these changes. We are in the business of making doing business with black suppliers better because we believe that #BlackSuppliersMatter in our economic recovery and transformation goals.
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/risk/our-insights/covid-19-implications-for-business
BEE path is paved with good intentions
but comes to a dead end
I recently came across a “transformed” 51% black-owned company that flashed its level 2 broad-based BEE (B-BBEE) credentials to all and sundry as it stood at the front of the tender line, successfully winning and retaining contracts with large corporations it did business with prior to its “transformation”.
Read here :