Samsung Retains Level-1 B-BBEE Ranking for Six Successive Years

True Reflection of Samsung’s 30-Year Commitment to South Africa’s Transformation Agenda

Samsung has retained its Level-1 B-BBEE status for six (6) years in succession. This is a true testament of Samsung’s 30-year commitment and the positive impact its continuous investment has had, to the country’s transformation agenda.

This Level-1 B-BBEE achievement complemented by its continued investment in the country, places Samsung in a firm position where it remains a strong supporter of economic transformation and an active contributor to the future of the South African economy. Since the dawn of democracy when Samsung entered the African continent through the establishment of the South African office, the company has been pushing its transformation agenda by investing in a number of empowerment programmes for the future, which have now led to positive social changes within the broader African continent.

The B-BBEE level rating is used to measure the extent to which local companies comply with the system of B-BBEE, driven by key pillars that include Ownership through EEIP & Management Control (Indirect Empowerment), Employment Equity & Skills Development, Preferential Procurement & Enterprise Development as well as Socio-Economic Development (Social Responsibility). Even though there may be all kinds of complexities to implementing B-BBEE, Samsung has made incredible strides forward in its long-term vision for the country and its overall B-BBEE philosophy and strategy.

Driven through the company’s landmark R280-million Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (EEIP) which was launched in May 2019 in partnership with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (Dtic), Samsung is now celebrating five years of this programme’s sustained success. This EEIP programme is projected to have a measurable impact on job creation and a contribution of nearly R1-billion to the South African economy at large.

Five years in and Samsung’s EEIP programme has managed to rise to the challenge of achieving its ambitious goals. Measurable outcomes include an accumulative investment of R138-million to date in SME development and capacity building in the ICT sector. With environmental sustainability being one of the major focus areas for Samsung, one black-woman-owned E-waste business was supported.

Samsung believes that entrepreneurship is vital to combating youth unemployment. To this effect, two Software Development enterprises were assisted. Also, to give marginalised communities better access to electronic repair services and encourage a culture of entrepreneurship, Samsung provided support to two Accredited Service Centres.

Lenhle Khoza, B-BBEE & Transformation Manager at Samsung Africa said: “As the company enters its second phase of EEIP programme, its investment in the socio-economic development of the country and its people will remain as one of the main focus areas. To improve our reach and impact, the expansion plan of Samsung’s EEIP programme is now focusing on provinces beyond the initial areas that included Gauteng, Western Cape and KZN. The roll-out plans have now been extended to other under-privileged rural provinces such as the Eastern Cape and Limpopo.”

And through ongoing investment, the EEIP programme aims to deliver measurable impact and a lasting legacy for generations to come. As part of the second phase of the Enterprise Development programme which was launched towards the end of last year, a further investment of over R30-million is planned over the next three years. A well-considered and integrated approach has enabled Samsung to partner with universities and SETA accredited training providers to train 1440 software developers and accredited technicians to enhance their prospects of securing employment, starting their own businesses and further training.

By the end of March this year, 595 unemployed youth had been trained. This addresses a key need in the South African ICT sector and has resulted in a marked increase in female software developer and artisan graduates. Increasing female representation in ICT training is ultimately vital to reverse the market trend of lower gender representation in this sector. Employment is a fundamental component of Samsung’s EEIP training plan and Samsung is working closely with its partners to achieve a target absorption rate of 100%.

Importantly, to prove that its transformation agenda is not just a tick box exercise – Samsung has increased its focus on unemployed learners through its internship and learnership programmes, supported by an emphasis on creating work experiences during and post the learnership or internship period. This skills development programme is geared towards ensuring that Samsung increases the employability of the country’s young hopefuls.

This year, Samsung has re-affirmed its commitment to not only providing external bursaries, but also plans to continue investing in youth on a larger scale. Samsung’s bursary fund supported a diverse pool of 49 students in fields that varied from finance, law, supply chain, HR, IT to marketing. Internally, Samsung has an impactful employee development programme.

In the case of Management Control, the representation in both Samsung’s Board and Exco reflects the demographics of the country. Samsung has also been driving employment equity through the progression and appointment of employees at each occupational level. In addition, the company has also been re-directing existing spend to qualifying Black-Owned and Black-Women Owned (BWO) Qualifying Small Enterprises (“QSEs”) and Exempt Micro Enterprises (“EMEs”) to include them in the existing procurement value chain of Samsung South Africa with a focus on the following areas that have been approved: Marketing, Services, Sales, Logistics and Recruitment.

This is supplemented by the continued focus on the development of black talent in the business through the provision of grant and preferential loan funding to qualifying Enterprise and Supplier Development beneficiaries, with the possibility of graduating them to become suppliers to Samsung. These empowerment efforts have a strong focus on SME development and are in-line with Samsung’s transformation plans which aim to address key developmental aspects linked to the National Development Plan (NDP) and the overall transformation of the economy.

And as a good corporate citizen that has consistently supported the country’s transformation agenda in the last three decades, Samsung has invested in a number of education-focused, corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes. These education-focused Socio-Economic Development initiatives that include the Samsung Innovation Campus (SIC) and Solve For Tomorrow (SFT) competition are re-affirming the company’s commitment to STEM education and the upliftment of underserved communities.

“As a passionate supporter of the country’s transformation objectives, we have consistently been striving to adhere to the country’s legislation. This sixth-year, as a Level-1 B-BBEE compliant organisation is indeed an accomplishment worth celebrating. With our combined efforts, we have managed to exceed almost all the requirements of the pillars of South Africa’s B-BBEE system,” concluded Khoza.