Localisation for Africa
UNIDO SPX PROGRAMME HAS HAD A POSITIVE IMPACT ON LOCALISATION
It ’ s been three years since the UNIDO SPX programme was started in South Africa , as a result of an agreement between the South African government and UNIDO with the aim of supporting the localisation strategies of government . Originally under the auspices of the Department of Enterprises through the preprogramme in 2009 , which laid the foundation for the last three years funded and coordinated by the Department of Trade and Industry ( dti ).
It is important that linkages are created between the national infrastructure build programme and local suppliers to ensure access to key projects and to utilise the homemarket to improve competitiveness , enhance existing manufacturing capabilities , develop new manufacturing capabilities and create jobs in the associated supply chains .
And this has been the main aim of the Subcontractor and Partnership Exchange programme is to provide local industrial manufacturing companies access to tools and services that will enhance their performance and enable them to compete so that they can access local and global procurement opportunities .
The SPX programme also facilitates matchmaking processes between the local suppliers and foreign OEMs that have been awarded major contracts and has also provided input in developing targeted government support to assist local industries in closing the competitiveness gaps identified from the benchmarking processes .
At an event held in Pretoria on 24 June 2013 , UNIDO SPX launched their impact report , which highlights a number of successes but also documents their activities over the last three years and draws up the chapter for the next few years as the contract with Dti comes to an end .
UNIDO SPX is pleased to report that its work has contributed to localisation efforts and that it has been directly responsible for compiling an industry database , assisting with supplier development / competitiveness improvement and matchmaking .
• 14 Mini-SPX Centres established
• Partnerships established with 15 other industry associations and agencies
• The UNIDO SPX database contains in excess of 2000 manufacturers linked to the main government procurement sectors , i . e . rail and utilities
• 402 companies across South Africa have been benchmarked
• 174 companies have been referred to formal supplier development interventions
• We have engaged in approximately 173 buyer meetings with OEMs and 63 State- Owned Companies
• 1459 opportunities were investigated
• 1560 suppliers have been introduced to an opportunity
• Value of contracts is approximately R115 million (* this is an estimated figure as reporting back to UNIDO SPX on concluded contracts and the values thereof is not a mandatory requirement )
Going forward UNIDO SPX plans to build upon the successes of the past three years and will continue its support of the South African government ’ s localisation strategies through its activities , funded by the DST and hosted at the CSIR . The dti and DPE will remain involved in the programme .
“ We plan to assess other international practices and add these best practices to the UNIDO SPX Programme ’ s portfolio , whilst increasing our focus on emerging manufacturers and their positioning as potential suppliers ” says Richard Bean , Chief Technical Advisor : UNIDO SPX South Africa .
The SPX programme also plans to strengthen its relationship with the Technology Localisation Implementation Unit at the CSIR and to assess the viability of remaining part of UNIDO ’ s international SPX network .
The impact of the UNIDO SPX Programme since its inception will form a fitting foundation for its future work .
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