Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) will be hosting its annual Supplier Development Conference on 7 March under the theme, Collaborative and Inclusive Growth.
The 2019 theme fits squarely with the country’s bold investment and development agenda as expressed by President Ramaphosa during the State of the Nation address recently, where he outlined the five tasks that must underpin everything that as a collective, we must commit to, to drive the vision of an economically and socially strong country. One of the five tasks is that ‘we must accelerate inclusive economic growth’, a vision CCBSA has been championing since the inception of the Supplier Development Conference three years ago.
Featuring a line-up of dynamic speakers, innovators and thought leaders in the enterprise and supplier development space, the CCBSA Supplier Development Conference aims to provide a platform on which small, medium and micro-enterprises can network and engage with government, local municipalities, corporates, specialist development agencies, the media, and industry and sector organisations. Various finance houses and funders will also be represented. Knowledge-sharing, access to resources and capacity-building is essential in developing SMMEs in South Africa and CCBSA has created an intrinsic platform to realise just this.
CCBSA Managing Director, Mr Velaphi Ratshefola says, “This is a significant platform for entrepreneurs, especially small to medium enterprises in the supply chain value chain. CCBSA has advanced greatly since we launched the Conference in 2017 and are currently working with a sizeable number of suppliers who are an integral part of our business and growth strategy, and there are now more opportunities for local suppliers to find other clients that they can supply their goods and services to. The Conference enables delegates to learn how to best use their resources to unleash entrepreneurial activity amongst South Africa’s previously marginalised groups.”
At the 2018 conference, CCBSA announced a R3.9 billion shift in spend to local black suppliers and the initiative is bearing fruit. “We set ourselves an investment target of R1.3 billion a year for three years at the 2018 Conference, and I am delighted to say that we exceeded our year one target by R200 million. A full R1.5 billion of our procurement spend over the past year went to black- and black female-owned enterprises,” says Ratshefola.
“This in turn positions them well to expand their client base and working with other large companies,” he adds. “By successfully integrating small-scale suppliers into our ecosystem we are providing them with what all businesses need to grow: a reliable stream of work that is paid for on time and access to the necessary business acumen required to grow.”
The Supplier Development Conference targets specific commodity categories, including fleet maintenance, manufacturing plant spares and machinery, engineering and logistics, and packaging suppliers to maximise opportunities to enter the supply chains of participating entities across sectors.
The Supplier Development Conference targets specific commodity categories, including fleet maintenance, manufacturing plant spares and machinery, engineering and logistics, and packaging suppliers to maximise opportunities to enter the supply chains of participating entities across sectors.
“This event is about creating opportunities for smaller businesses to engage on challenges they face and we seek through the platform, to find workable solutions to overcome these. “Doing so will enable us to make significant progress in building an inclusive and growth-focused economy,” Ratshefola concludes.
Interested individuals wishing to attend the conference may contact Black Inc Events at info@blackincevents.co.za or 064 900 2228
Details of the event:
Date: Thursday, 7 March 2019
Venue: Hall 5, Gallagher Convention Centre, Midrand
Time: 08:00
Dress: Business
Ends
For further enquiries, please contact
Nnana Mamatshele
T: 011 848 2600
M: 082 310 4912
Any media enquiries, please contact
Raphala Mogase
T: 0860 994 164
M: 084 607 4647
