Jabulani Semulane, CEO of the Automotive Industry Transformation Fund. Picture: SUPPLIED
In 2020 the Automotive Industry Transformation Fund was established. It was the brainchild of at least seven multinational automotive manufacturers in SA namely BMW, Ford, Isuzu, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen as a collective Equity Equivalent Investment Programme as defined in the BBBEE codes between the founding OEMs to facilitate transformation across the sector’s value chain.
Selumane has been involved with the concept development since 2015 when the sector was first confronted with legislative changes, and when government pressed on with finding meaningful yet practical solutions for OEMs to participate in the transformation agenda without diluting ownership. “Equity in such cases can be reflected down the value chain by bringing in new black-owned suppliers and the fund assisting to set up new businesses with a proven viability, or existing companies with the aim of ramping up production or diversifying within the industry,” he adds.