To date, more than R1-billion has been invested in the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI’s) Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (EEIP), it was revealed at the launch of multinational computer technology company Dell’s multimillion-rand Equity Equivalent programme, in Johannesburg, on Friday.

The EEIP invites multinationals to participate and contribute positively towards black economic empowerment  (BEE) in South Africa and to do so under the ownership element.

DTI deputy director-general of incentives administration Malebo Mabitje-Thompson revealed the R1-billion investment figure at the launch of the Dell broad-based black economic-empowerment (BBBEE) Equity Equivalent Programme and the Khulisa Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Academy, in Bryanston, Johannesburg.

“This is another milestone for the evolution of the BBBEE policy and, in particular, the EEIP. We are glad that we are launching the seventh BBBEE Equity Equivalent project in the history of BBBEE, which will be running for the next ten years,” said Mabitje-Thompson.

The programmes are expected to contribute towards the achievement of enterprise creation and development, foreign direct investment, accelerated growth and development of black rural women and youth, sustainable growth and development, human development with a focus on education and skills development, and infrastructure investment with an emphasis on developing the country’s research and development infrastructure.

Four of the seven approved EEIP projects were in the ICT sector, which highlighted to Mabitje-Thompson that the ICT sector was important and had the potential to promote South Africa’s technological advancement globally.

She congratulated Dell on the initiative, reminding delegates that May 1 marked the implementation of the Amended BEE Codes of Good Practices. 

Dell Enterprise Solutions Group MD Stewart van Graan, meanwhile, said the Khulisa academy would focus on developing leading high-performance computing (HPC) skills, complemented by business management and entrepreneurial and life skills.

He added that as an Equity Equivalent investment by a multinational organisation operating in South Africa, the initiative met government objectives on multiple levels, namely to actively participate in the economy, fast-track the growth of previously disadvantaged youth, contribute towards new venture creation, as well as skills and infrastructure development.

The Khulisa academy would be 100% owned by an educational trust and managed as a separate entity to the Dell subsidiary.

The academy, which had been approved by the DTI, would focus on promoting the inclusion of blacks into mainstream technological economic activity with relevant and critical ICT skills and knowledge, leading-edge skills, centred on HPC, and the design of technology infrastructure solutions.  

The EEIP was not open to all multinationals, only those that were precluded to give out direct equity. The view of government is that all companies operating in country, whether foreign owned or local based, should be compliant with the 25% BEE ownership target.