Social Procurement in South Africa: Driving Impact through Corporate Value Chains

Social procurement is a rising topic in supply chain sustainability for companies in South Africa. The origin of this practice traces back to South Africa's post-apartheid transition, marked by the implementation of transformative economic policies to uplift previously disadvantaged groups. Initiatives like Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and Enterprise & Supplier Development Programmes provide preferential procurement opportunities to black-owned businesses and work towards the bigger picture of a strengthened South African economy.

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Social procurement is the practice of companies proactively selecting social enterprises as suppliers of goods and services in their value chain. (Learn more in the Social Procurement Manual)

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The Corporate Guide to Social Procurement in South Africa offers insights into the opportunity for corporate procurement managers to leverage the strength of their corporate buying power not only to diversify their supply chains but also foster wider economic transformation and job creation for marginalised groups by working with social enterprises.

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Download the Corporate Guide to Social Procurement in South Africa to:

🔎 🇿🇦 Gain instant access to a list of 36 South African social enterprises who are ready to sell to corporates with an overview on their product and service offerings, impact focus areas, and business links.

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👣 🚩 Follow the social procurement experiences of social enterprises like Village Market Africa, Setšong African Tea Crafters, Tarem Services, I Love Coffee, and Taking Care of Business, to go in-depth about the impact that working with a social enterprise can bring to corporations.

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📚 💪 Useful resources and practical tips to to get you started on your own corporate social procurement journey.

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👉📩 If you are interested in developing social procurement in your company, reach out to Yunus Social Business for more information or support!

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The Corporate Guide to Social Procurement in South Africa was done in partnership with Accendio, a Cape Town-based economic development consultancy specialising in entrepreneurial ecosystem development and innovative finance for social enterprises.

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Learn more about Yunus Social Business' work in social procurement in the articles below:

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‍The Social Procurement Manual

Your guide to learning the basics of social procurement, debunking myths about the practice, and gaining a global view on the movement.

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Sector Spotlight Report on Plastic Waste: Learn from insights gained from over 60 social businesses

Condensing the insights gained from over 60 social businesses around the world, this report identifies opportunities for tackling the global fight against plastic via social procurement.

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Driving innovation and sustainability in supply chains: 5 questions with Audi's social intrapreneur Lukas Petersik

YSB speaks with Lukas Petersik of Audi to hear about his experience in striving to turn value chains into a force for good.

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Responsible business through social procurement: 5 questions with Jaime Paiva and Alexandra Santos of Zurich Insurance Group

Uncover the steps that Zurich is taking to implement social procurement in their organisation including the nuances of working with the local implementation of an international strategy.

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