Tag: economic participation

Despite meaningful progress in women’s participation in the economy, many women-led businesses across South Africa still face persistent challenges. These include limited access to markets and networks, as well as barriers to securing funding and digital tools.

The Employment Equity Amendment Act (EEAA) 2025 marks a major step in South Africa’s effort to speed up workplace transformation and address persistent inequalities. A key change is the redefinition of a designated employer. Previously determined by both staff numbers and turnover, it now applies only to organisations with 50 or more employees, reducing the burden on small businesses.

In a significant move to strengthen the integrity of the Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) scheme, the government has proposed amendments to Sections 1(1) and 5(3) of the Employment Tax Incentive Act, No. 26 of 2013. The ETI, introduced in 2013, aims to encourage employers to hire young job seekers by reducing the cost of employment through a government-supported cost-sharing mechanism.

The recent gazetting of the Legal Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Sector Codes of Good Practice (LSC) occurred on September 20, 2024. This is a significant milestone for the transformation of the legal profession in South Africa. It marks a pivotal moment, aligning with the nation’s constitutional commitment to equitable economic participation.

The formation of South Africa’s new Government of National Unity (GNU) bodes well for the consolidation of state reform and pro-growth initiatives, including better performing parastatals, such as Eskom and Transnet. Given that economic growth is essential to spur social development, I believe now is the time to act.

Skills development in the form of learnerships is an essential element of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) scorecard, accounting for a significant portion of the score for large enterprises in particular. However, not all businesses have the capacity, availability, or ability to take on sufficient learners to meet their obligations.

In the wake of COVID-19 and the accelerated digitisation of financial services, the gap between South Africans who have highly developed financial literacy and those with little or none has not just widened – it has taken on new dimensions.  The consequences for South African society are dire.

The construction sector must not be overlooked in the drive towards achieving net zero. While sectors such as industrial manufacturing, mining and fossil fuel power generation tend to grab more headlines, the construction of buildings and infrastructure accounts for approximately 7 Gt CO2e, or 20% of global carbon emissions, where 4 Gt CO2e is associated with the materials used for construction.

The 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change draws to a close this week. For Africa, discussions at this year’s conference placed the continent as a central player that is playing an active role in actioning efforts and initiatives for a better, more sustainable future.

As a testament to the resilience and dedication of South African stokvel savers, we reveal that its customers' stokvel net deposits have increased by 42%. Since November 2019, our stokvel customers have continually increased saving via a stokvel surpassing the R8.3 billion mark in total member contributions.