We help design & implement tailored enterprise & supplier development (ESD) programmes by applying our unique approach to entrepreneurial support. We work towards specific business objectives of the client company. 

The approach is based on first determining the needs of the corporate client, & then to design an ESD intervention that meets their business requirements & allows them to score the needed BEE scorecard points. This approach allows our customised ESD programmes to meet the business objectives of the client company, while making real & direct impact with the small business participants.

An  example our tailoring of the Small Supplier Digital Progression Programme, where security requirements for  IT systems & data security of the ESD benefactor’s procurement department directs us in designing digital adoption interventions for their small suppliers. In this way the ESD benefactor/measured entity solves a real business required through the ESD programme, while the ESD beneficiaries/small suppliers are guided to improve their business systems and develop a growth-ready company.

Another good example is the enterprise development services offered to V&A Waterfront vendors, as part of the Crafts & Design Institute’s Covid Support  intervention. The EPI was tasked with designing a coaching programme for vendors experiencing extreme strain during the Covid Lockdown, & implementing coaching support to 40 businesses. The intervention design was based on combining personal well-being support with a deep-dive into the vendor’s business model & diversification of revenue streams. For many this was their first step into e-commerce & making sure they manage their lack of cash flow so that the business could survive the lack of foot traffic at V&A Waterfront.

An often forgotten provision in the BEE Scorecard is that ESD support should lead to “independence” of the beneficiaries & that a growth plan needs to be in place & implemented. 

As a result, measurement of impact is often missing in ESD programmes.  In understanding the objectives of the BEE Codes to require the development of profitable suppliers or supported small businesses, the EPI includes the use of practical growth plan formats & monitoring of progress towards independence & profitability, & we are able to report on these through the ongoing use of appropriate Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) tools.

Our ideal ESD partners are not looking to tick-the-box for their BEE Scorecard Elements only, but also have clear business objectives &/or a vision for entrepreneurship development, where measurement of the impact of interventions enable reporting on the return on investment.