Johannesburg - Local manufacturers and smallholder farmers stand to benefit materially from Massmart's supply development fund, with the quality and competitiveness of their products expected to reach greater heights, the fund's CEO
Mncane Mthunzi said on Thursday.
Addressing a consumer rights conference, Mthunzi said the R100m fund aims to assist black and white supply enterprises.
Mthunzi leads the supplier development programme first proposed by Massmart Holdings
[JSE:MSM] and Walmart as a voluntary condition during Competition Tribunal hearings into Walmart's R16.5bn bid for 51% of Massmart.
"The fund is about procurement, not BEE (black economic empowerment). Massmart has a programme dedicated to BEE. The fund seeks to assist suppliers with products. We will plug them into our supply chain, help expand their products in terms volumes and give them technical assistance where necessary."
The former chief executive of the Consumer Goods Council of SA said the mechanics of the fund would be influenced by the advisory committee made up of Massmart management, unions and state officials.