If we are together nothing is impossible. If we are divided all will fail. “Winston Churchill”  |
The NBI Story
At the National Business Initiative (NBI) we have believed in and lived the credo of working together for a sustainable future since our inception. The NBI is a voluntary group of leading businesses, acting as a collective, in support of sustainable growth and development in South Africa through projects, partnerships and policy engagement working together for a sustainable future. |
The seeds for the NBI’s beginning were sown after the first democratic elections in 1994 with business leaders looking for ways to contribute to our fledgling democracy. On 9 March 1995, former President Nelson Mandela launched the NBI giving it his ‘unqualified support’. This new organisation was the convergence of the Urban Foundation (UF) and the Consultative Business Movement (CBM). The UF had been active in the provision of urban housing for black South Africans since 1977. The CBM was a key facilitator of political negotiations, which led to the country’s first democratic election, and the adoption of the new Constitution.
The NBI started out with a determination to promote increased economic growth, reduce poverty and inequality, and support effective and efficient governance. Its initial work focused on education policy and housing delivery. Through Edupol, the NBI made significant input into shaping the South African Schools Act - key legislation that laid the foundation for post-apartheid schooling. With the help of the NBI’s Housing Delivery Support Team in the 1990s, government was able to accelerate housing delivery.
In the late 1990s, the NBI spearheaded three significant initiatives. In response to high levels of crime and violence, the NBI created Business Against Crime, which has since evolved into a separate organisation. The NBI started and managed the Business Trust after the second democratic election to demonstrate business's continued commitment to South Africa's democracy and to maintain high levels of dialogue between business and government. Although now separate entities, the NBI and the Business Trust are mutually supportive organisations. The third project was the Colleges Collaboration Fund (CCF), a five-year project conceptualised by the NBI and funded by the Business Trust, which made an immense contribution to the transformation of the entire colleges’ sector. Growing out of the experience of the CCF, the College-Industry Partnerships project was launched.
The NBI’s impact ranges from strategic public policy intervention to demonstrating the business case for action, from practical projects on the ground to high-level partnerships. Over the past few years the organisation has broadened its focus to promote good corporate citizenship and responsible business practices. As one of close to 60 global regional partners to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the NBI’s environmental focus is informed by both local and international priorities and debates. One of the key strengths of the organisation is the ability to convene strategic and constructive engagement between business and government to address the social, economic and environmental imperatives of the country. This has been clearly demonstrated through ongoing dialogue with the Education Minister, Naledi Pandor and captains of industry on critical challenges and issues in the education and training sector. As climate change increasingly becomes a priority for South Africa and the world today, the NBI, at the request of Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism convened a dinner for twenty top business leaders, key government departments and leading academics to engage with Sir Nicolas Stern on the Economics of Climate Change.
The NBI is secretariat to the Big Business Working Group, a group of business leaders who meet with the President to discuss issues affecting the country and its investment climate. The NBI also works closely with Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) where there are policy implications for business. A formal agreement between BUSA and the NBI is in place with two NBI directors serving on the Sub Committee for Education and Training of BUSA.
Education and Skills
The NBI is secretariat to the Big Business Working Group, a group of business leaders who meet with the President to discuss issues affecting the country and its investment climate. The NBI also works closely with Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) where there are policy implications for business. A formal agreement between BUSA and the NBI is in place with two NBI directors serving on the Sub Committee for Education and Training of BUSA.
The NBI’s work in the education and skills arena has been unparalleled. It currently manages the following Education and Skills projects:
The Education Quality Improvement Partnership (EQUIP) is a school development programme that focuses on leadership, management, governance, as well as teacher training and support. Since 1995, EQUIP has been implemented in more than 500 schools in six provinces. This has impacted on 500 000 learners, 12 500 teachers and 3 000 governing body members. EQUIP’s support of Maths and Science has seen the graduation of 220 Maths and Science teachers from various institutions over the past few years. Programme evaluations have demonstrated EQUIP’s success in shaping school policies.
The College Industry Partnerships programme aims to build strategic partnerships between companies and Further Education and Training (FET) colleges to address skills shortages. Effective partnerships are already in place in the mining and steel industries. Its most recent success has been the formation of a partnership between major players in the construction industry and the Gauteng and Western Cape Departments of Education. The partnership will see the development of two FET Colleges as centres for the accelerated and expanded education of skilled construction personnel. The exceptional work done jointly by the industry and the Department of Education to ensure responsive programmes and curriculum for construction is ground-breaking in vocational education in South Africa.
Through the Travel and Tourism Programme (TTP), more than 1 600 schools now offer Travel and Tourism as a school subject to high-school learners, exposing them to a wide range of careers in the tourism industry. Approximately 300 000 learners and 900 teachers have already benefited from this initiative. The TTP has facilitated the development of classroom materials, provided training to educators in the subject area and initiated learner and educator internship programmes to gain first hand experience in the industry
The Technical Skills Business Partnership is a partnership comprising of Sasol, ArcelorMittal, Gold Fields, Anglo Platinum, Eskom and Transnet with a focus on engineering and intermediate artisan and technical skills. The partnership intent is for initiatives to be put in place to address the short term and longer term commitments for the training of artisans, technicians and engineers. The main objective of the partnership is to develop gap - closing strategies and action plans to indicate the participating companies’ contribution towards alleviating the shortage in engineering and artisan skills in line with the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition targets.
JIPSA
The NBI provides the secretariat to the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA). JIPSA is a high level partnership, comprising government, business and organized labour. The focus of the three-year initiative is to identify priority skills and resolve any blockages to the development of those skills at the highest level, under the direction of the Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
The Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) was formally launched in February 2006 by the Deputy President and JIPSA was established a month later. The overarching goal of JIPSA is to develop strategies for fast-tracking “priority and scarce” skills and unblocking skills obstacles to support AsgiSA’s objectives.
The role of the secretariat includes assisting the Joint Task Team and Technical Working Group with the development of the priority skills plan, budget and implementation strategy. The secretariat also provides JIPSA with ongoing administrative and project management, policy analysis, research management capacity, reports, documents and monitoring, and reporting functions.
Sustainable Development
In 2003, the NBI established the Sustainable Futures Unit to promote good corporate citizenship and responsible business practices, with a special focus on environmental concerns. As the NBI is the regional partner of the WBCSD in South Africa, the NBI has increasingly begun to link the global business debates and focus on issues such as energy and climate to the South African context
In 2005, the NBI facilitated the signing of the Energy Efficiency Accord between 31 leading corporates and industry associations and the former Minister of Minerals and Energy, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. This commitment was reinforced a year later when more leaders joined the initiative bringing to 40 the total number of signatories thus far. The technical committee formed to implement the Accord, is led by business and government with NBI as the secretariat and facilitator of the ongoing partnership
The NBI partnered with Incite Sustainability to bring the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) to South Africa. The CDP serves as the secretariat for the world’s largest institutional collaboration on the business implications of climate change. CDP represents an efficient process whereby many institutional investors collectively sign a single global request for disclosure of information on Greenhouse Gas Emissions. In February 2007, this request was sent to over 2400 companies worldwide including, for the first time, the JSE Top 40. The CDP is seen as an important step in helping companies identify and strategise around the impacts of Climate Change
More recently, the NBI took over as Focal Point to the South African Local Network of the United Nations (UN) Global Compact. In order to combat abuses in environmental and social spheres, and to rebuild public trust in the private sector, then UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, challenged business leaders in 1999 to join an international initiative called the UN Global Compact. The Compact brings companies together with UN agencies, labour and civil society in support of ten principles on human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption. The NBI seeks to increase support to, and participation in, the UN Global Compact in South Africa.
Economic Growth and Equity
The main thrust of the NBI’s concern has always been the problems and challenges surrounding Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs). In the 90’s the NBI worked on unblocking funding, improving service and procurement, establishing local business service centers and stimulating local economic development for SMMEs. By the turn of the decade, the annual EnterPrize competition was introduced, linking good entrepreneurial ideas with expertise from NBI member companies and rewarding the most innovative business plans.
The NBI played an important role in contributing to the capacity development of the National Treasury in establishing its Public Private Partnerships unit.
Building on its experience in local economic development and the business plan competition for small enterprises, the NBI initiated the Enterprise Linkages Initiative to promote collective action by large enterprises for the development of links with Small and Medium Enterprises. The programme focuses on the development of good practice guidelines and case studies, advocacy and information sharing, and facilitating large enterprise supplier development.
The Volunteer Mentorship Programme contributes to sustainable economic growth by promoting the transfer of skills from highly skilled, experienced individuals and companies to promising small businesses owned by young entrepreneurs.
In June 2007, the NBI facilitated a new partnership between business (local and national companies) and the Eastern Cape Provincial Administration (ECPA). The purpose is to create a public-private interface where business can assist the ECPA to enhance its capacity for service delivery on a sustainable basis by providing mentorship/coaching expertise and professional assistance.
The NBI has presented a powerful business case for companies to take seriously their positions as meaningful players in the society within which they operate. Over the past few years, it has emerged as a leading proponent of the role of business in sustainable development. It is now focused on positioning business as a distinct but interdependent and significant contributor to the society which it forms part of.
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