Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) has the potential to change the economy of South Africa. When implemented correctly, it is an investment in your people – and your business. So what has happened with B-BBEE that so many people, particularly in the business space, have such a negative perception of it? How do we guide South Africa into making B-BBEE work for everyone? And what lies beyond B-BBEE?
One of the companies blazing the trail in the B-BBEE space is Lanham-Love Consulting, a 73.57% Black Owned Level 2 BEE Exempt Micro Enterprise that has over 20 years of expertise in this sphere, across a number of sectors. Angie Lanham-Love, the CEO, considers a lack of understanding of B-BBEE to be one of her particular bugbears.
“I’ve talked about this before,” says Lanham-Love. “B-BBEE should be about investing in your business, both in the long and the short term. The long-term gains are, obviously, a more inclusive economy and a business that is representative of the market you are serving, making it far easier to serve that market effectively.”
“In the short term,” says Lanham-Love, “you equip your workforce with skills and knowledge that has an immediate, direct benefit to your company. One we get past seeing B-BBEE as a cost and rather as an investment, as something to be sought after rather than as something to be dealt with, we will see a return on investment that has the capacity to build economies.”
For Lanham-Love and her cohort at Lanham-Love Consulting, this is what ‘Beyond B-BBEE’ is all about. “B-BBEE is not just an economic project – it’s a social one, too,” says Lanham-Love. “Part of how Lanham-Love Consulting sees B-BBEE is as a puzzle. There are a lot of aspects making up the bigger picture, and if you are missing a piece, the entire picture is affected.
“It all works together to bring about The South African Project,” says Lanham-Love. “If we want to make South Africa an even better place to live, a place with not just a functioning economy, but an economy that can compete on the world stage, with a populace that is employed, engaged, and working together to make a better life for all, it starts with us. It starts with people in decision making roles to have the leadership skills and foresight to trailblaze the way to a South Africa that is Beyond B-BBEE – to a South Africa that is representative, inclusive, and raring to go.”
Lanham-Love Consulting is ready and waiting to help you trailblaze your company’s way into B-BBEE and beyond. Speak to our experts today to see how we can help you change your business, change South Africa, and change the world!