Most enterprise and supplier development spending produces points and very little else. The programmes that actually build suppliers share three features: they develop businesses the company genuinely intends to buy from, the support continues long enough to matter, and a contract is attached. Everything else is a transfer with a report at the end.
This is the third part of our guide to enterprise and supplier development.
Develop suppliers you actually intend to buy from
A beneficiary with no route into your supply chain gains a cash injection and no customer. A beneficiary you buy from gains revenue that continues after the programme ends, which is the only version that changes the business permanently.
That also makes the spend commercially useful to you: a developed local supplier reduces dependence on a single large one and often improves lead times.
Fix the operational barriers, not just the cash
Small suppliers usually fail on certification, systems, capacity and cash flow rather than on capability. Funding a food safety audit, a quality system or an ERP integration removes a real barrier that money alone does not.
Accelerated payment terms are among the cheapest and most effective interventions available. Paying a small supplier in fourteen days instead of ninety changes what they can deliver, and it costs you working capital rather than budget.
Make it long enough to work
Short programmes produce a certificate. Meaningful change in a small business takes longer than a quarter, and the support needs to survive the point where the beneficiary struggles.
Measure what actually matters: revenue growth, jobs created, whether the supplier is still trading with you two years later. Attendance and workshop counts are not outcomes.
Get the compliance right on both sides
Beneficiaries must meet the qualifying criteria for the spend to count, and verification requires documentation. The framework sits under the B-BBEE Codes administered by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition.
For small businesses seeking to participate, the entry requirements are registration with current annual returns at the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, tax compliance and a valid B-BBEE affidavit.
Frequently asked questions
What makes an enterprise development programme work?
Developing suppliers the company genuinely buys from, support that lasts long enough to matter, and a contract attached at the end.
Why do most programmes fail to change anything?
Because the beneficiary has no route into the supply chain, so they receive cash without gaining a customer.
What is the cheapest effective intervention?
Accelerated payment terms. Paying a small supplier in fourteen days rather than ninety materially changes what they can deliver.
What should be measured?
Revenue growth, jobs created and whether the supplier is still trading with you two years later, not attendance or workshops.
What do small businesses need to participate?
Registration with current annual returns, tax compliance and a valid B-BBEE affidavit or certificate.
Further reading
Originally published in February 2018. Updated September 2026 into guidance on running enterprise development that produces real suppliers.
