The Black Industrialists Scheme (BIS) serves to implement the Black Industrialists (BI) Policy, which aims to leverage the State’s capacity to unlock the industrial potential of predominantly black-owned and black-managed businesses within the South Africa economy. Simply put, the broader objective of the scheme is to promote industrialisation, the promotion of previously disadvantaged industrialists, sustainable economic growth and transformation, through the support of black-owned entities in the manufacturing sector.
The policy seeks to achieve the following objectives:
- Accelerate the quantitative and qualitative increase and participation of Black Industrialists in the national economy, selected industrial sectors and value chains, as reflected by their contribution to growth, investment, exports and employment; and
- Create multiple and diverse pathways and instruments for Black Industrialists to enter strategic and targeted industrial sectors and value chains.
- In short therefore the broader objective is aimed at promoting industrialisation, sustainable economic growth and transformation through the support of black-owned entities in the manufacturing sector.
The Black Industrialists Scheme (BIS) provides coordinated and explicit guidelines for the promotion and long-term development of black manufacturing entities. It provides a platform to supervise the direction of Black enterprise development; and emphasises Black industrialist significance for national and local economic growth and sustainability.
The main areas of responsibility of the programme are:
- Formulating a Black Industrialist promotion master plan and promotional policies;
- Preparing an action plan for the promotion of sectoral Black-owned manufacturing enterprises;
- Serves as the country’s Black Industrialist information centre and the central organisation;
- Conducting research and studies on Black Industrialist-related issues;
- Developing information systems and networks to support the operation of Black Industrialists; and
- Administering incentives to support Black Industrialists.
A black industrialist is a black person involved directly in the origination, creation, significant ownership, management and operation of industrial enterprises that derive value from the manufacturing of goods and services at a large scale; acting to unlock the productive potential of South Africa’s capital assets for massive employment locally. The following are important elements of being an industrialist: