Women benefit from new B-BBEE codes

The new broad-based black
economic empowerment
(B-BBEE) codes present a
number of opportunities
to women in the freight
and logistics industry.
However, since business
decisions – driven by large
multinational corporations
– are often made outside
of South Africa, real
transformation remains a
challenge.
This was one of the key
findings of a ‘Women in
Freight’ panel discussion
at the South African
Association of Freight
Forwarders (Saaff) congress
in Durban last week, where
managing director of MCV
Forwarding International,
Nontokoza Gxumisa,
pointed out that there were
still too few opportunities
for small businesses and
female-owned businesses
on the global trade
platform.
“We have therefore
proposed that government
offer an export
assistance programme
for women to provide
greater transformation
opportunities,” she said.
CEO of MetroMinds,
Juliette Fourie,
commented that training,
skills development and
education played a major
role in the development
of women, with Saaff ’s
head of training, Tony d’
Almeida, pointing out that
the B-BBEE codes were
structured with a “very
strong bias” towards the
empowerment of women in
the supply chain.
“There is, for example,
an enhanced value on
any monetary spend for
training of female staff,
and the points system for
female employment is very
heavily weighted,” said
d’Almeida.
Sue Moodley, managing
director of Transport.
com, commented that
women in the industry
could play a strong part in
assisting each other in their
development. “Train them,
mentor them, employ them
and use them as suppliers,”
she said.
CAPTION
Panellists in the Women in Freight discussion … Sue Moodley
(Transport.com), Juliette Fourie (MetroMinds) and Nontokozo
Gxumisa (MCV Forwarding).