Sasol-ESD

Partnering forgrowth throughsmall businessdevelopmentand fundingSASOL ENTERPRISEAND SUPPLIERDEVELOPMENTA new era for Sasol

STIMULATING ECONOMICGROWTH THROUGH SMALLBUSINESS DEVELOPMENTThe development of independententrepreneurs is one of the mosteffective ways of stimulatingeconomic growth and creating jobsin our communities.A growing small and medium enterprise(SME) sector is vital for broadeningeconomic participation and delivering oneconomic development priorities. It alsosupports our aim to diversify our supplychain. We have established a dedicatedenterprise and supplier developmentfunction to drive these objectives. Thiseconomic growth imperative has beenincluded in the 2014 list of materialsustainability focus areas.Our approach to SME developmentaims to support and nurture smallbusinesses through integrated technicaland business development support,as well as mentoring and coaching forentrepreneurs.

In South Africa, the Sasol SiyakhaEnterprise and Supplier DevelopmentFund provides our SME supplierswith loan funding to bolster theirsustainability and create an enablingenvironment for them to thrive.Since its establishment in 2008, the fundhas disbursed over R65 million. In our2014 financial year the fund provided 11SMEs with R 11,1 million in loan funding.Through our work in small businessdevelopment, we have learnt that accessto infrastructure and facilities is one ofthe key growth enablers for SMEs. Weare developing the 172 -hectare ChemCityEco-Industrial Park (CEIP) in Sasolburg,where serviced stands will be sold tobusinesses at competitive rates for themto conduct general and industrialbusiness activities. The CEIP is beingdeveloped in phases, with occupation ofthe first phase underway.

Civil infrastructure for the second phaseis in progress. When complete, our totalinvestment in this initiative will be overR185 million.The CEIP will provide on-site businessdevelopment and technical supportservices for qualifying SMEs in the VaalTriangle, thereby promoting localeconomic development in the area.Partnering with relevant stakeholdersis a key contributor to our success insupporting SMEs. Together with theDepartment of Trade and Industry (dti),we are creating a R50 million businessincubator facility at the CEIP. This facilityforms part of the dti’s campaign to rollout 200 business incubators nationwide.The development will include a 2 000m²building that will provide office-basedincubation services. A further fourbuildings will cater for the incubation ofsmall-scale manufacturing businesses.

Four of the five buildings wereconstructed using alternative buildingtechnology acquired from SMEssupported by Sasol.In October 2011, we partnered with theDepartment of Science and Technologyto develop a plant oil and extract facilityin the Limpopo province. The aim of thisproject is to apply innovative technologyto local natural resources to createsustainable livelihoods in the area.Agriculture is an important economicsector in the greater Tzaneen area, withfruit such as oranges, grapefruit,mangoes, avocados and bananasproduced at both small and commercialscale. As the implementing partner,Sasol brought expertise in cosmeticformulations, by-product beneficiation,small entrepreneurial development andthe incubation of small businesses.In 2014, the project reached fullcommercialisation.

While the focus of our SME developmentactivities is primarily in the communitiesin which we operate, the positiveimpacts of our enterprise and supplierdevelopment programmes contributemore broadly to economic developmentand transformation.Please contact us on:info.esd@sasol.com011 344 3854if you need more information aboutSasol’s Enterprise and SupplierDevelopment Programme.