From Compliance to Impact: Advancing South Africa’s Enterprise and Supplier Development Policy
On 13 February 2026, the South African Supplier Diversity Council, in its capacity as Secretariat of the Enterprise and Supplier Development Community of Practice, hosted a high level Enterprise and Supplier Development Policy Stakeholder Consultation in partnership with the Department of Small Business Development at the SASDC offices in Johannesburg.
The consultation forms part of the Department’s process to develop a comprehensive Enterprise and Supplier Development Policy. At its core, the policy seeks to strengthen the balance between compliance and genuine transformative impact, enhance sustainability rather than dependency, support inclusive participation of small enterprises, and address operational barriers that continue to limit MSME growth and competitiveness.
Setting the Policy Context
The day opened with reflections from SASDC leadership, followed by a message of support delivered by the BBBEE Commissioner, Mr Tshediso Matona, himself. His presence and contribution underscored the significance of the policy development process and reinforced the importance of ensuring that transformation is not merely compliance driven, but measurable, credible and outcome focused.
In his keynote address, Chief Director Mojalefa Mohoto from the Department of Small Business Development set the stage by outlining the objectives of the proposed policy and the systemic challenges it seeks to address. He emphasised the importance of Enterprise and Supplier Development as a lever for entrepreneurship, localisation and job creation within the broader national development agenda.
The message was clear. ESD must move beyond scorecard performance and become a practical driver of enterprise sustainability and economic inclusion.
Evidence, Reform and Implementation Realities
The consultation was designed to move beyond theory and into implementation realities.
A research led presentation explored MSME development as a key driver of economic growth and transformation, highlighting the need for an enabling and supportive policy environment grounded in evidence.
A high level panel then examined reforms and revisions under development within the ESD and BBBEE framework. Representatives from regulatory institutions and development finance bodies unpacked key issues including:
• The current regulatory landscape and its operational challenges
• Measuring impact on ESD and real transformation outcomes
• Policy interventions designed to close existing gaps
• Funding trends affecting ESD beneficiaries
The discussion underscored a shared concern. While the policy architecture exists, alignment, coordination and impact measurement remain critical areas requiring strengthening.
Voices from the Ecosystem
A further session brought in perspectives from across the ESD ecosystem, including measured entities, beneficiaries and ESD practitioners.
These contributions grounded the conversation in lived experience. Participants spoke to the importance of meaningful partnerships between corporates and small enterprises, the need for structured support rather than short term compliance driven interventions, and the challenge of accessing appropriate and patient funding.
Behind every policy clause and every scorecard point are real businesses, real jobs and real communities. The ecosystem panel served as a reminder that policy effectiveness must ultimately be measured in enterprise resilience and sustainable growth.
Shaping the Draft Policy Framework
The Department of Small Business Development provided an update on the draft ESD Policy framework, including the concept document, consultation process and upcoming milestones.
Stakeholders were invited to engage directly with the preliminary problem statement, policy objectives and identified gaps within the current framework. The final plenary session focused on consolidating key issues, principles and recommendations that should shape MSME development as a driver of inclusive growth and transformation.
The consultation reinforced a number of emerging themes:
• The need to shift from compliance driven approaches to impact driven implementation
• Stronger coordination across regulators, funders and corporates
• Clearer impact measurement frameworks
• Sustainable funding mechanisms that enable enterprise growth rather than dependency
• Inclusive participation that ensures smaller and emerging enterprises are not excluded
The Role of SASDC
As Secretariat of the Enterprise and Supplier Development Community of Practice, SASDC remains committed to convening constructive, evidence driven dialogue that strengthens the integrity and effectiveness of Enterprise and Supplier Development in South Africa.
Our role extends beyond hosting engagements. It includes facilitating alignment across the ecosystem, amplifying practitioner insights, and contributing to the development of policy frameworks capable of delivering measurable transformation outcomes.
The development of a comprehensive ESD Policy represents an important milestone for South Africa’s transformation agenda. The quality of this policy will depend on the quality of collaboration across government, industry and the broader ESD ecosystem.
Last Friday’s consultation was a significant step forward.
The work continues.