Johannesburg, South Africa – Sasol’s commitment to growing the country’s SMME sector will be in full display this week at the 8th Annual Proudly SA Buy Local Summit and Expo taking place in Sandton where the company is showcasing 10 SMEs it is supporting, providing them with the platform to promote their businesses. Among these is DM Minerals Group Pty Ltd (DM Minerals), founded by its Group CEO Doctor Motswadire in 2015.  

DM Minerals received loan funding from the Sasol Siyakha Trust to purchase equipment to enable it to meet its contractual obligations to Sasol. This not only grew the business but also added to company’s asset register and turnover. Today, DM Minerals is an integrated mining and mineral processing services partner to Sasol and has grown its personnel from only two people in 2015 to 50 permanent employees and 16 subcontractors. 

“Contributing to the local economic development and job creation in our communities and the country at large is of utmost importance to our company,” said Lebelo Lukhele, Sasol Vice President: Supplier Management and Transformation. “Our preferential procurement spend from black-owned entities has materially increased in the previous financial year from R7.4 billion to R12.7 billion. All indications are that we will once again improve on this performance in the FY19 financial year.” 

The Sasol Siyakha Trust loan book has also increased from R231,6 million to R301, 7 million in FY18 with over 14 SMMEs being recipients of this fund. In addition to it, Sasol also has the Sasol Business Incubator in Sasolburg, which it constructed in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry. The purpose of the facility is to provide SMMEs with technical support in the form of access to essential infrastructure such as office space and equipment for 12 months, and virtual incubation support by Sasol’s business incubation specialists for up to 24 months. 

“Sasol is excited to be to be a part of this journey with Proudly SA for the fifth consecutive year, and continues on its efforts to be a credible stakeholder to our partners and our communities by promoting inclusive business practices that will help develop and sustain our fenceline communities. This is through enabling meaningful economic participation and inclusion,” ended Lukhele.