Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) has emerged as a powerful tool for transforming the economy and Nedbank stands out as one of the leaders in this space. Driving Nedbank’s award-winning ESD programmes is Nirmala Reddy, an award winner herself, who is the organisation’s strategy specialist, with a passion for entrepreneurship.
In the latest Top Empowerment Masterclass, Nirmala shares her expertise, taking us through the approaches that make ESD programmes a success – from the perspective of both corporations and suppliers looking to benefit from such programmes – and shares examples of the success Nedbank has had in their own programmes.
Key takeaways to listen out for in this Masterclass:
- Entrepreneurs need to understand the values and mission of the businesses they’re looking to engage with
- Knowledge and understanding of your industry is more important than funding
- Collaboration in enterprise development is key. All the different stakeholders have a role to play and need to be working together
- “Starting with the end in mind allows you the opportunity to create scenarios and then to decide which is the best one that’s going to be a win-won for all.”
- “It’s not just about doing your programme and ‘exiting’, it’s about what happens thereafter.”
- The stakeholders are as important as the selection criteria for ESD programmes
- The approach needs to be flexible, adapting to the different businesses which are in different stages of their development
- Businesses implementing ESD strategies need to focus as much on the development of the entrepreneurs as much they do on the development of the business
- For a meaningful impact, with mentorship and business development, ESD programmes need to run for longer than six months
- When ESD is viewed from a transformational perspective, outcomes such as turnover aren’t as important as outcomes like job creation
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