After I left Procurement Leaders last year to join Old Street Labs, a startup that helps large organisations to work more collaboratively with their strategic suppliers and, ultimately, drive more value beyond savings, I was sceptical as to how we can catch the eye of these giant companies. Apart from having a timely and relevant […]
Hey procurement, speak to startups! Read More »
The SEED Engine is currently running its annual The Real State of Entrepreneurship Survey. In 2018, more than 1 500 entrepreneurs participated in the survey. The survey findings were enlightening, but not unexpected: enterprise supplier development (ESD) programmes that are intended to assist entrepreneurs are proving to be of little value to the majority of
‘ESD programmes not relevant and funding remains a problem’ say entrepreneurs Read More »
Procurement and supply chain professionals have such a broad range of skills and cross-functional business knowledge that it makes us all ideal mentors. Mentors share their professional knowledge/experiences and act as positive role models to mentees in need of some direction. This is especially true when engaging with suppliers and mentoring young entrepreneurs partaking in
10 things that I have learnt about mentoring Anzisha fellows Read More »
From left to right: Goodall Gondwe, Minister in Finance, Economic Development & Planning, Malawi; Margaret Mwanakatwe, Minister in Finance, Zambia; Mizinga Melu, CEO of Barclays Bank, Zambia. Delegates at the inaugural Africa Procurement & Enterprise Development Summit (APEDS) threw their weight behind a drive to ensure that the public and private sectors harness procurement for
Harness procurement for socio-economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa Read More »
Join us at Smart Procurement World 2019, where one of our conference themes will be “Walk the talk: High-impact procurement” Procurement work is much more than just securing the right products, in the right quantity and quality at the right place… Let’s think wider, more holistically, writes Robert Freeman, a procurement and supply chain expert
Love procurement – because it can impact society and the environment Read More »
The growth of small businesses in South Africa is severely affected by the institutional environment in which they operate. In this series of articles, Cornelia Olivier, Head of Sourcing: Corporate Services, Absa, looks at South Africa’s institutional environment. In the final part of the series, Olivier tells SmartProcurement how extending formal credit to household enterprises
Part 3 – Does tertiary education kill the drive to start a small supplier? Read More »
Research indicates a strong link between owner-manager education, access to finance and small business growth The growth of small businesses in South Africa is severely affected by the institutional environment in which they operate. In this series of articles, Cornelia Olivier, Head of Sourcing: Corporate Services, Absa, looks at South Africa’s institutional environment. In part
Part 2 – Enabling small supplier growth in SA vs 75% of SME Credit Applications Rejected Read More »
Although it is now common knowledge that funding small suppliers is key to igniting the engine of inclusive economic growth, the evaluation and development of relevant skills play an equally significant role in powering the economy. It is this focus on skills development that underpins the operating principles of Old Mutual’s Entrepreneurship Ecosystem. In this
Beyond small supplier funding – the crucial role of skills development Read More »
The growth of small businesses in South Africa is severely affected by the institutional environment in which they operate. In a series of three articles, Cornelia Olivier, Head of Sourcing: Corporate Services, Absa, unpacks two formal institutional enablers necessary for small suppliers to grow. Olivier provides some insight as to why as many as 75%
Enabling of small supplier growth in SA – formal credit extension and education Read More »
In this month’s SmartProcurement, Stuart Townshend, Edge Growth Director, explores how you can use your Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) initiative to be cash efficient, and become self-sustainable – yet making a positive impact where it is needed most.
Can Enterprise and Supplier Development equal cash efficiency? Read More »
