Page 20 - Logistics News - Issue 01 - 2024.indd

OPINION

Funding small businesses

in transport

By Lebo Letsoalo, Founder and CEO at SincPoint

October was transport month and with the theme ‘Siyakha – we are building’, it
is important to appreciate the economic importance of the transport sector for
South Africa, at the centre of which is reliability and safety and, more crucially, the
contribution potential of the sector to the transformation agenda of the country.

his transformation must prioritise the inclusion of our transformation objectives. According to the 2022
small businesses more deliberately in the entire Mastercard Index, women entrepreneurs in South Africa
T value chain of the transport sector. One of the have made substantial progress in overcoming gender-
most important ways to enable such transformation based discrimination and growing their businesses, but
is funding for SMEs in this sector to accelerate their still face fundamental structural and social challenges,
equitable participation. The country’s Transport Charter many of which worsened since the pandemic.
commits players to use B-BBEE as a tool to develop
a world-class, cost-effective and efficient modally The index further shows that the country has
integrated transport sector that promotes entry of black improved in women empowerment and support for
people into the industry to stimulate economic growth. female entrepreneurship. Empowerment in the country
has moved from 62.8 percent to 91.2 percent in recent
The charter recognises that South Africans from years. It, however, warns that there remains an issue in
previously disadvantaged backgrounds – the majority funding for women-owned businesses. It says that 80
of whom are black people – must participate in this percent of women-owned businesses with credit needs
industry in a meaningful way if we are to realise are either underserved or unserved.
pragmatic, sustainable and equitable growth. The
sector plays a critical role in the county’s economic In November last year, recognising this, we set up
development and growth. It contributes 8-9 percent a fund aimed at bolstering women-owned transport
to South Africa’s total GDP and has the potential to and logistics companies. This is achieved through our
generate four jobs for every R1-million invested. It partnership with Transcend, Inqolobane Investment
is, therefore, undoubtedly one of the most important Trust and the Black Industrialist Group.
sectors, especially in aiding and fast-tracking the
country’s economic recovery in a post-pandemic Through the Inqolobane Investment Fund, we want
environment. to mitigate impeding obstacles facing businesses
owned by women – and especially black women –
However, and as an example, the sector remains through strategic investments aimed at fostering
one of the least gender-transformed in the country. tangible transformation in the sector by increasing
It is thus vital that a concerted effort to address this their participation. We want to fundamentally eradicate
and to support women in general becomes central to financing obstacles facing them as transport operators.

18 I S S UE 01 – 2024 www .l o g ist i csn e w s .c o .z a