In 2019, Samsung in collaboration with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) launched this EEIP initiative which was formulated specifically to address some of government’s priorities as well as Information and Communication Technology (ICT) challenges faced by South African youth from underprivileged communities.

Through strategic public, private partnerships (PPPs) with various institutions of higher learning, government and the private sector; Samsung’s EEIP programme has over the years managed to make a tangible impact in the lives of the youth in the country. The FIL at UWC in particular, is now a driving force in South Africa’s digital transformation agenda. Established in 2019 through a multi-year partnership with Samsung, the FIL creates pathways for young people to thrive in the digital economy through cutting-edge training, applied research and inclusive innovation.

The FIL equips students not only with strong foundations in software development and digital social innovation, but also with the advanced skills needed for emerging careers in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data-driven software development. Through its work-integrated learning streams and close collaboration with industry, the FIL ensures graduates are job-ready for the rapidly evolving AI and technology landscape.

A large number of young individuals who were part of Samsung’s EEIP programme across the country have now been able to overcome challenges, secure meaningful employment and drive positive change within their communities. In an effort to show evidence of these tangible results from individuals who were impacted specifically by the FIL programme at UWC; Samsung is now bringing testimonial stories that are highlighting the journeys of the participants as well as their personal growth achieved through this programme:

Buhle Mcetywa, a 23-year old student from UWC says she found out about the EEIP software development (SWD) programme through the institution’s notice emails and applied. She had heard of it before through her professor while pursuing her degree in Chemical Sciences and decided to take part in this EEIP programme, namely the Multi-platform software development with an emphasis on C#, six (6) months after completing her degree. She went from not being able to write a line of code to being part of a team that built a gardening application incorporating an AI model for disease detection.

She added: “I gained a lot of experience from the programme and went from being a Chemist student to being able to read and write software in a space of 10 months. The regular presentations during the programme also helped me to become a better public speaker and communicator and now, this is a skill I’m actively working on developing further.”

Luke Padiachy, a 26 year-old who is originally from Eerste River in Cape Town said that his sister was part of the programme before him. Prior to enrolling, he didn’t have any tertiary education – he was just a general worker and about a year or two later, he met two colleagues who were part of the EEIP SWD programme.

He said: “At that time, I had gotten a promotion at work and was asked to train them on our new system. Getting to know them inspired me to apply for the programme as well. Honestly, I never thought I’d get in, but when that acceptance message came through, I was so surprised and excited. It really felt like someone was taking a chance on me and I’m so grateful they did.”

According to Luke, through the programme, he studied Multi-Platform Software Development and Digital Social Innovation for Impact and gained so much from being part of it. He believes that some of the programme’s benefits included access to tons of learning materials and he was introduced to a huge network of people in the tech world. They had guest lecturers like Scott Hanselman, VP Developer Community, Microsoft, and met so many tech influencers that they’d be able to look up when they needed help solving problems.

Luke explained: “The biggest benefit was that the programme helped me land my first tech job at Full Stack in Century City. We started as interns and then, got hired full-time. I learnt project management skills and the basics of coding which I use every day now as a Junior Developer. All of this experience now comes in real handy when I’m working with teams at my job. The programme has also taught us how to think through problems and solve them step by step, which made it so much easier to adapt to the real world of being a developer and, its been an amazing ride since then.”

Nicky Beukes, Samsung SA EEIP Project Manager concluded: “It’s quite satisfying to hear testimonies from the beneficiaries of the EEIP programme. To us, this says that together with our partners – we are achieving the objectives that we set for ourselves when we initially launched the EEIP programme. Together with UWC, this initiative reflects our strategic focus on graduate employability, socially responsive research and it’s strengthening the university’s role in South Africa’s innovation ecosystem. All of this is an affirmation of our commitment to empowering the country’s youth in in-demand skills needed by the local economy.”

The graduation ceremony which was held on 27 August 2025 provided Samsung an opportunity to reinforce its commitment of investing in ICT education, with the main aim of empowering black youth in the country’s rural communities. The aim of this programme is to address the challenge of unemployment and contribute to economic development in the Limpopo province. This programme forms part of Samsung’s R280-million worth Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (EEIP) which was launched in 2019 in collaboration with the DTIC.

The University of Limpopo was initially on-boarded as Samsung’s collaborative partner in June 2023 and contracted to deliver two cohorts (50 students in total) in the Introduction to Multi-Platform Software Development and Digital Social Innovation over two years. The official launch of the Limpopo Digital Innovation Lab took place on 06 March 2024. By February 2025, this cohort had managed to complete the curriculum (theoretical part) and, in the same period, the team’s projects were also presented to a panel of industry experts, Samsung and potential employers.

According to the University of Limpopo, the status of the current programme’s cohort is as follows: 24 students have completed the programme successfully, one (1) student left the programme due to personal circumstances and 10 of these students have already found permanent employment. The University sees this partnership as a way of addressing youth unemployment and drive positive change in the community. For this reason, the University is currently playing a key role of liaising with employment partners and its own university structures to place the remaining number of students for employment.

Mr Isaac Maredi, Executive Director, University of Limpopo ICT said: “Based on this progress, the programme is indeed achieving one of its main objectives of contributing to the growth of the tech industry in Limpopo and the country; by producing skilled software developers ready to tackle real-world challenges. We are very grateful to our partners in particular Samsung that has, through its EEIP contributed financially towards the equipment, tools and refurbishment needed in our university Lab.”

When the project initially started, the University of Limpopo identified a dedicated space to house the Limpopo Digital Innovation Lab, but it required extensive refurbishments that included electrical, fittings, carpets and equipment; to name a few. Through the guidance and support from one of the institution’s academic partners, the University of the Western Cape – the two institutions were able to successfully establish this strategic programme. In the absence of an accredited programme from UL, the UWC co-branded its EEIP accredited programme for use in its own institution for the benefit of the student community in Limpopo.

Mr Maredi expressed with pride how the University of Limpopo is now in the process of finalising its accreditation for its own programme. He also explained just how grateful his institution is for the active support that it has received from UWC when it comes to curriculum development, employment training programmes and advice relating to the growth of the Limpopo software development community. Importantly, the university partnership with Samsung has help the institution to deliver this innovative programme that is part of their broader efforts to upskill students and contribute to the digital economy.

“The University of the Western Cape is honoured to celebrate the first cohort of Multi-platform Software Development and Digital Social Innovation in Limpopo. This partnership with Samsung and the University of Limpopo continues to create meaningful skills development, employment and entrepreneurial opportunities in our joint vision of addressing youth unemployment through strategically targeted interventions. We congratulate all the students on their hard work and wish them much success in their software development careers,” said Dr Wouter Grove, Manager, Future Innovation Lab at UWC.

Nicky Beukes, Samsung SA EEIP Project Manager added: “We are very proud of these graduates and what we have been able to achieve together with our partners. Since inception of the programme, there has been a number of key milestones that include the achievement of our key mission of empowering young talent and advancing ICT skills in the province.

“In collaboration with the University of Limpopo, DTIC and UWC – this programme has allowed us the opportunity to empower the next generation of software developers through education and innovation, fostering growth and opportunity in rural communities,” concluded Beukes.

According to research by Thrive CFO*: Small businesses in South Africa face numerous challenges, including access to funding, competition from larger companies, limited market reach, high operating costs, lack of skilled labour, regulatory compliance, cybersecurity threats, cash flow management, limited access to technology and environmental sustainability. *

To help small enterprises in South Africa to overcome some of these challenges, Samsung in collaboration with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) has – under its R280-million worth Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (EEIP), which was launched in 2019 – formulated programmes that address some of government’s priorities as well as Information and Communication Technology (ICT) challenges.

This multi-million rand EEIP programme aims to empower black owned and local SMEs with a particular focus on women and start-up businesses in the ICT sector. It supports skills development, enterprise development and job creation to contribute to black economic empowerment. The EEIP is part of Samsung’s broader commitment to social responsibility and economic development within South Africa.

Samsung’s EEIP programme is closely aligned to the overarching objectives of the National Development Plan (NDP) Vision for 2030 and South Africa’s framework of broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) – providing a mechanism for multi-nationals to contribute towards the development of black South Africans.

This framework has allowed our company to contribute to B-BBEE goals through alternative investments, including investments in black-owned businesses, ICT development and skills development. Our EEIP programme focuses on strengthening black economic empowerment by supporting ICT entrepreneurs and fostering technological advancement, ultimately contributing to socio-economic development and job creation. South Africa’s NDP envisions a thriving SME sector as a cornerstone of the country’s inclusive, resilient economy by 2030.

In essence, the NDP sees SMEs as a crucial engine for economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction. This strategic plan for South Africa’s future outlines various tactics to foster SME development and ensure their long-term success. Our government, which includes our collaborative partner, DTIC, believe that SMEs can create the majority of new jobs in the country – contributing significantly to economic growth as well as play a vital role in the reduction of poverty and inequality.

As Samsung, we also understand how much entrepreneurship contributes to job creation, community development and how it fosters innovation and drives economic growth. For that reason, Samsung EEIP programme and DTIC have opened the third Call to Market for the Transformative SME Development Programme – targeting suitable ICT entrepreneurs in the country, that are eager to grow their businesses for funding and support.

This transformative SME Development Programme seeks to support local entrepreneurs throughout their journey as well as driving a culture of innovation and digital solutions. So, in an effort to go beyond meeting our obligations towards government and demonstrate our ongoing investment in SME development – we are in the process of recruiting suitable SMEs to participate in this EEIP SME Development Programme with the ultimate aim of contributing to economic growth and job creation.

In the last two years, our criteria for this EEIP SME Development Programme focused on targeting SMEs that had been operating in the ICT and Service Centre space for at least a minimum of three years with a turnover that is less than R50M per annum. This year, our EEIP SME Development Programme “Call to Market” campaign for entries has gone with a unique approach that aims to make a tangible difference in the lives of local ICT SMEs. We have changed our focus to include start-up, micro-enterprises that are still in their infancy stage and also put a strong focus on women-owned businesses.

In collaboration with DTIC, we understand that start-up businesses are generally considered high-risk ventures, particularly in the early stages. We have therefore put in place some mitigating measures coupled with key performance indicators (KPI’s) to help manage these micro-enterprises efficiently and overcome any challenges that might come our way. The specific KPIs that are used in this EEIP SME Development Programme include:

• Economic Impact – looks at accumulative investment in SME development, capacity building as well as the contribution to the South African economy. Also, this KPI looks at job creation, growth in revenue and the profitability of supported SMEs.
• Enterprise Development – evaluates the number of SMEs specifically black-owned as well as those that are township-based and the number of businesses supported.
• Capacity Building: looks at the number of individuals trained or upskilled, improvements in business management skills as well as access to new markets and technologies. And lastly,
• Sustainability: The environmental impact of supported businesses, long-term viability of supported SMEs as well as the number of black-owned businesses and townships-based that are supported.

We made these changes because we understand the need to develop local start-up enterprises and also how gender representation plays a crucial role in the development of entrepreneurs in the country. Importantly, we strongly believe that gender inclusion in the ICT entrepreneurship space will help to unlock economic potential, drive innovation and create a more equitable and sustainable future.

With this new approach in this year’s EEIP SME Development Programme, we are now able to offer a larger pool of eligible ICT SMEs in the country an opportunity to access grant funding and enterprise development support to help propel their businesses to greater heights. This improved approach aims to identify gems in the market and offer them holistic support which also includes Business Development assistance (mentoring and coaching) to help in fostering growth, a dynamic and connected information society as well as a knowledge economy.

This essentially means that this holistic approach in our transformative EEIP SME Development Programme does not only focus on developing technical skills (for those organisations in the ICT sector), but also other key entrepreneurial capabilities such as soft skills that can help create sustainable businesses in South Africa and enable them to become engines for job creation.

Also, our business development initiatives include an Enterprise Development Bootcamp that is part of Samsung’s EEIP Programme – which helps young entrepreneurs launch and grow their businesses. This fast-paced four –month long, Bootcamp programme focuses on developing entrepreneurial skills and supporting Black-owned businesses in South Africa, particularly in the areas of Service Centre repairs and ICT. It aims to accelerate and grow businesses by providing entrepreneurs with training, mentorship, and financial support. 

Samsung’s EEIP programme – now in its seven years of sustained success and this Enterprise Development “Call to Market” which represents the 3rd edition of our programme seeks to continue making a measurable difference to the socio-economic development of black South Africans. This year’s call follows two successful cycles and forms part of our broader commitment to the ICT sector, SME development and Vision 2030.

This is our way of ensuring that we empower South Africa’s digital future by helping ICT entrepreneurs thrive as we deepen our commitment and collaboration with DTIC. The success of this EEIP SME Development Programme is highlighting the significant milestone of our EEIP in the country and the profound impact it has had on the nation’s ICT sector in conjunction with the DTIC.

Our programme’s alignment with South Africa’s Vision 2030 and its success to date – has positioned this transformative SME Development Programme as one of the notably -value adding EEIPs in the sector. Furthermore, our strong and successful collaboration with the DTIC in strengthening the ICT sector through the EEIP – now complemented by our focus on providing support to start-ups in the infancy stage while also ensuring gender representation in this year’s SME Development Programme – is a true testament to shared goals for national development in the country.

Samsung’s R280-million worth EEIP, which was launched in 2019, has managed to demonstrate considerable success since its inception. In its six years of sustained success, this year represents the 3rd edition of the programme and seeks to continue making a measurable difference to the socio-economic development of black South Africans. This year’s call follows two successful cycles and forms part of Samsung’s broader commitment to the ICT sector, SMME development and the government’s Vision 2030.

Nicky Beukes, Samsung EEIP Project Manager said: “This programme has in the last few years seen great success and has also had a positive impact in the lives of entrepreneurs in the ICT space. As part of our transformation objectives, our EEIP programme continues to contribute to the sustainable development goals of the National Development Plan (NDP).”

Importantly, through Samsung’s collaboration with the DTIC – these partners remain committed to making a positive contribution to broader economic growth and, to continue playing a significant role in both job creation as well as sustainable entrepreneurship opportunities within South Africa.

Beukes added: “And together with the DTIC, we have in the last few years re-affirmed our commitment to ICT development and economic transformation which are aligned to South Africa’s Vision 2030. This third edition of EEIP and its success to date, is a clear indication that Samsung’s significant investment in SMME development is yielding tangible results.”

This third, consecutive call to all black-owned SMEs in the ICT and Service Centre space across South Africa is a great opportunity for the country’s ICT SMMEs to grow and shape the future of their businesses through this Samsung ED Programme.

For more information on how to respond to the call and apply, please see link: www.samsung.com/za/local-programme/ed-programme/

• Main Page:  Samsung EEIP | Enterprise Development | Samsung South Africa
• Application form: Samsung EEIP Application for Enterprises | Samsung South Africa