The Tsogo Sun Entrepreneurs Class of 2018
Hotels are central to the success of the tourism sector as they cater to the large business travel market as well as leisure travelers.
Many of the country’s hotel groups have come to recognize the importance of supporting local SMEs as part of their business models, looking to local entrepreneurs and business owners to form the backbone of their supply chains.
This aligns with the principles of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Framework, which aims to ensure South African black-owned small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) become suppliers to local and international companies.
Here is how these 3 hotel chains are empowering local SMEs.
Tsogo Sun
The hotel chain runs the Tsogo Sun Entrepreneurs programme. This year, they inducted 42 new beneficiaries from 30 different SMEs for a year of intense training, coaching, mentorship, and support—helping them professionalize and grow their businesses. This brings the total number of entrepreneurs supported by the programme to 242.
The SMEs are from a diverse range of market sectors, including tourism, ICT, cleaning, professional services, manufacturing, retail, health and beauty, agriculture, and secretarial and administrative services.
As part of its efforts to uplift and support businesses in all industries within tourism and hospitality, Tsogo Sun also hosts an annual Supplier Showcase, offering suppliers an opportunity to showcase their products and services nationwide. The products and services range from accommodation and cleaning services to arts and crafts, as well as catering, spa treatments, and gardening services, according to Business Events Africa.
Sun International
The Sun International Enterprise Supplier Development (ESD) programme focuses on black-owned SMMEs within their tourism supply chain, including food and beverages, casino and gaming, logistics, and marketing.
According to their website, to apply for the programme, businesses are required to have been trading for a minimum of two years and should provide a product or service directly related to the Sun International supply chain.
Sun International’s ESD Programme contributes by:
- Supporting the introduction and development of black-owned SMMEs in their supply chain
- Offering business opportunities to qualifying ESD beneficiaries where possible
- Focusing on the sustainability of the beneficiaries within the programme
- Supporting the objective of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030
- Supporting strategic category management plans
- Using ESD funds to achieve meaningful value within the communities in which they operate
Protea Hotels by Marriott
The goal of Protea Hotels by Marriott’s Enterprise Supplier Development Programme is to empower local entrepreneurs who have the potential to create further employment opportunities. Enterprise and Supplier Development is a major focus of the group, according to the organization’s Group Procurement Manager, Andrew Towns.
The focus of their initiatives has largely been on beverages. In 2017, they announced that as part of the Protea Hotels’ Enterprise and Supplier Development Plan, the organization was implementing a contract for a new supplier of coffee for all the hotels managed by Protea Hotels by Marriott.
Protea Hotels by Marriott partnered with Puréau (a proudly Bidvest company) for the supply of 100% Arabica coffee beans and filter coffee roasted by 4th Avenue Coffee Roasters. As part of this supply, Protea Hotels by Marriott and Puréau have secured the skill and passion of Monty Biyela to train all of the baristas at the various hotels.
Biyela is the founder of Monty’s Academia, a coffee training business. The company is involved in training baristas to deliver the highest standard of coffee available in the country while ensuring the transfer of skills to baristas working in all Protea Hotels by Marriott. She has already trained at 16 hotels, situated in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, and Port Elizabeth.
Avukile Mabombo, Group Marketing Manager at Protea Hotels by Marriott, said in an interview with SME South Africa that they were also sourcing gin from local distilleries producing innovative craft gin varieties to offer at their Fire & Ice! properties.
