As a business, we assist companies to deploy Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) and Socio-Economic Development funding for maximum impact across solar, water and healthcare (specifically tackling Period Poverty). We look to use a combination of quantitative and qualitative data to help us identify trends to help our clients make informed decisions around their investment.
Here are some of the trends we have identified for March 2025.
Website Trends: “Solar ESD” and “Period Poverty” are topical
In analysing our website data, we are able to identify key search phrases that attract visitors to our site.
For the month of March 2025, the following three search phrases have attracted traffic:
- Solar ESD
- Period Poverty
- Youth Employment Service (YES)
“Solar ESD”: With loadshedding and “load reduction” once again back on the agenda, this makes logical sense as organisations consider ESD and SED spend to democratise access to clean energy solutions.
“Period Poverty: This appears to be driven by increased search engine visibility of the search phrase.
“Youth Employment Service (YES): Continues to be a trending search phrase as the country seeks solutions to its unemployment crisis.
Parks Tau continues to drive ahead with his “Transformation Fund”
Arguably the biggest story in the ESD sector at the moment is the momentum behind the “Transformation Fund” being championed by Minister Parks Tau out of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC).
The Draft Transformation Fund Concept Document has been published for Public Comment and feedback needs to be due in by 7 May 2025.
The question everyone is asking is whether or not the Minister will garner sufficient support for the proposal. Government is facing increased scrutiny around the real impact of ESD legislation on two fronts: actual impact on the SME sector and execution risk of centralised or government-managed resources.
Despite billions of Rands being invested in initiatives over the past decade, tough questions are being asked about whether or not the investment in ESD is truly impacting the small business sector. Will the sector benefit from more centralised control?
Sasol CEO talks B-BBEE and energy transition at BizNews conference
Despite numerous operational challenges in recent years, Sasol remains a structurally important business for South Africa. The company represents technical industrial skills, is a key player in the energy market in South Africa and has an extensive Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) network.
Sasol CEO Simon Baloyi delivered a keynote speech at the BizNews conference (BNC#7) this week where he shared insights into a number of interesting topics.
Johannesburg Metro closes in on 60 000 reported leaks year-to-date
Water infrastructure is a major focus area in South Africa at the moment and one of the key developments is the development of the Water security dashboard developed by the Department of Water and Sanitation.
According to the dashboard, the Johannesburg Metro has reported just under 60 000 leaks reported.
Another important statistic from the dashboard is that despite the heavy recent rains, the percentage of water storage in the 4 main strategic Rand Water reservoirs is still under 45%.
These statistics highlight the importance of small-scale strategic water storage solutions will be a key part of supporting the water infrastructure challenge over the next few years. We believe this will be a key opportunity for organisations to deploy their Enterprise and Supplier Development or SED funding and also help them achieve their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and help South Africa tackles its infrastructure crisis.
How can we assist you to deploy your ESD and SED funding for maximum impact?
If you are responsible for deploying ESD or SED funding and are looking for a partner to assist you with delivering maximum impact, we are here to help.
We are happy to setup an online call or host you at our offices in Rosebank.
