Richards Bay Minerals: linking big business with small business
Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) is a Rio Tinto managed mining and smelting business situated in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. As part of a broader commitment to sustainable development, RBM has implemented a successful programme to create real business opportunities for historically disadvantaged Black Economic Enterprises (BEE's) to supply goods and services to the company.
The scheme involves:
- Initiating new business ventures, and identifying and approaching existing disadvantaged small black owned businesses and helping them establish themselves as viable suppliers of goods and services to RBM, through a process of guidance, assessment and accreditation;
- Seeking RBM requirements that can be sourced from this sector, unbundling main supply contracts and planning new projects with a view to BEE participation; and
- Promoting an understanding of RBM's procurement procedures, and simplifying documentation and structured terms and conditions to accommodate the difficulties experienced by emerging BEE's, without detracting from accepted business procedures and quality standards.
The programme has been successful, with RBM now directly sourcing over US$9 million dollars worth of goods and services from historically disadvantaged local BEE's annually. This in turn has resulted in the creation of over 1,200 new permanent jobs, strengthened RBM's social licence to operate, and through the outsourcing involved, helped to improve the business's overall management efficiency.
Back to top