The bank has been a keen supporter of the Guild for almost two decades and has invested more than R1,3 million over the past six years to transform the wine industry.
"To create a flourishing wine industry, we need a corporate investment to make things happen. Through the support of the Nedbank Foundation we are able to implement our Protégé Programme by giving these winemakers the ability to one day plough back their knowledge and expertise and thereby help to create a sustainable wine industry," says Louis Strydom, chairman of the Cape Winemakers Guild.
The Cape Winemakers Guild Protégé Programme, a first for the wine industry, was launched in 2006 with the goal of bringing about transformation by cultivating, nurturing and empowering promising individuals to become winemakers of excellence.
"Education and skills development are part of our corporate social responsibility focus areas. Our involvement in this project is inspired by the realisation that education and skills development play a key role in growing the economy," said Kone Gugushe, Nedbank's divisional executive of corporate social responsibility.
The mentorship programme gives Viticulture and Oenology graduates at the University of Stellenbosch and Elsenburg Agricultural College the opportunity to work alongside and learn from Guild members. To date eight Protégés have participated in the programme, including Howard Booysen and Praisy Dlamini who have both graduated from the programme.
