Education and inclusivity are two significant factors in Engen’s drive to improving South Africa; their focus is to educate, empower female businesses and support entrepreneurs.
South Africa – Starting from the ground up, Engen is working to build the nation. The company believes that education is the key to creating a skilled and prosperous society. To make this a reality, Engen provides maths and science teachers to schools in rural communities. They also supply tutorials and provide study materials and guides. Engen started Saturday schools to help learners from Grade 10 to 12 who show potential in maths and science.
Not only does education upliftment play an essential role in Engen’s ethos, but inclusivity is also a crucial factor to transformation in South Africa. They take a holistic approach to every project. Many projects form the heart of Engen and all focus around either, education, shaping young entrepreneurs, enterprise and supplier development, or advancing gender equality in the workplace.
Engen is passionate about creating a better South Africa. They pursue a holistic approach to empowerment, which allows them to touch the lives of people and organisations all along their supply- and value chains, and even beyond. Furthermore, they are quite deliberate in stating that they want specifically women to enter the petroleum industry.
Women, for instance, like the driven and enthusiastic Gugu Ncongo and Nosiphi Waligwa – the proud owners of an Engen service station.
Gugu Ncongo and Nosiphi Waligwa never gave up on their dream of owning a thriving service station. They had applied to join the Engen group twice before finally being approved. The first few times, their youth and inexperience counted against them.
Today the service station is valued as Engen’s “pride and joy”. Retail forms the core of Engen’s business, and by partnering with the DTI and the National Empowerment Fund, they have facilitated the growth of a flourishing black female-owned business, that is respected by both its employees and its customers. Furthermore, by contributing retail-specific training, along with financial assistance, Engen has enabled and empowered Gugu and Nosiphi not only to be successful business owners but also to realise their big dreams of owning a service station.
Opportunities for small companies have been plentiful. Through their Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) programme Engen assists Small, Medium and Micro-Enterprises (SMMEs) to succeed beyond their first three years by providing training and finance.
They work to create sustainable business models for these emerging companies. Engen is not only ensuring the success of these businesses but is also transforming their supply chain.
David Swartz, the Director of DSES Project Solutions, was on the receiving end of Engen’s assistance. Through collaboration, the company has grown from strength to strength. When discussing how Engen helped DSES, David is moved to tears thinking how far they have come. The company is now sustainable and can offer employment to more people than ever before.
“This programme has given us the confidence to think bigger!” – David Swartz, Director of DSES Project Solutions.
Engen partnered with Pitch & Polish – a fun, interactive workshop that connects brilliant ideas with investor funding. The workshop teaches entrepreneurs how to pitch their ideas to potential investors. Even though many of them don’t form part of Engen’s value chain, they are demonstrating a real model of transformation which productively contributes to the South African economy.
Engen is prioritising the integration of small, emerging, black-owned businesses, along with the empowerment and education of young people, as they believe that that’s where the future success of South Africa lies.
The company is genuinely moving South Africa into the future it deserves. Their inclusivity of young and emerging female-owned businesses is empowering more than just the women that own the businesses, but also that of those employed by these companies.
As part of the #SAINC nation-building initiative, Engen is joining a network of purpose-driven brands to share stories of positive progress in South Africa. These stories are being featured across social media in small snippets, just like the one below, but you will also be able to watch the full-length features live on television. You will find the airing times below.
7 April 2019 – ETV Open News – 18:30
8 April 2019 – ETV Open News – 15:30
20 April 2019 – SABC2 – 14:30
12 May 2019 – ETV – 12:00
Watch a snippet of the story below:
Good Things Guy has partnered with Regency Global and Official Brand South Africa to bring you stories of how corporates and individuals are helping build our incredible nation.This week we're taking a look at an incredible South African company that has invested in more local content than ever, creating jobs and inspiring future generations to explore film and television careers.It's people and organisations like this that help move us forward!#GoodThings #NationBuilding #SAINC
Posted by Good Things Guy on Tuesday, 2 April 2019
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