Launched in 2014, Sanlam and the Association of Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) partnered to form an Enterprise Development Programme.
Aimed at addressing sustainable job creation in South Africa, the initiative also strives to facilitate growth within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). At the unveiling of the programme, Sanlam identified high-potential enterprises, with existing strategic links into its value chain, and offered these companies the opportunity to experience an innovative training and mentorship programme.
Isilumko Activate was one of the nominated companies and after successfully completing the programme, received top honours in this industry first. The benefits were clearly seen in Isilumko Activate's record-breaking year with significant growth in both turnover and complexity of activations solutions. In addition, the scale of flexi-employment opportunity and average earnings per brand activator also increased significantly, emphasising Isilumko Activate's important role in job and experience creation for those soon to enter the permanent job market.
"We are very grateful to Sanlam for sponsoring us on a programme of this nature," said Lauren Durant, Director of Isilumko Activate. "Being nominated as an Enterprise Development Beneficiary, by a giant like Sanlam, was a huge honour and a testament to our commitment to bring about real change and create shared value for both industry and society."
As one of the most dynamic financial services groups in South Africa, Sanlam believes that business owners are the lifeblood of the worlds' economies. The group believes in the contribution that businesses like Isilumko Activate make to job creation, which, in turn, helps strengthen the economy and alleviate poverty.
"With the percentage of unemployment at the highest it's ever been, more than half of those who find jobs, find them in the SME sector," said Brendan Powell, Director of Isilumko Activate. "Sanlam's Enterprise Development Programme will enable the growth of more SMEs, which will, in turn, generate more employment opportunities.
"Businesses will, however, only achieve the growth potential they're after, if they attract, motivate and retain the best people, and if they deploy those people in the right place at the right time," added Powell.
Expanding on this Durant said that companies face a variety of challenges in today's economy. "All these challenges have one thing in common: people are at the heart of a successful response. If businesses manage their employee relationships as they do their customer relationships, overall performance would show tremendous improvement. At Isilumko Activate, we believe that this sentiment goes hand in hand with what the Enterprise Development programme aims to achieve."
Isilumko Activate is a national brand activations business geared to help brands grow, sell more and create better relationships with their customers by interacting with them in a more meaningful way.
