BP Southern Africa Partners With Sefa To Empower Black Business To Enter Energy Retail Sector
BP Southern Africa Partners With Sefa To Empower Black Business To Enter Energy Retail Sector. bp Southern Africa (bpSA) has entered into a co-operation agreement with the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa), aimed at providing finance to empower black-owned businesses to acquire and operate service stations and related forecourt retail businesses.
The total value of the agreement is just over R58m, comprising of an initial R18m investment and a further R40m that sefa will receive from the proceeds of all annual loan recoveries ceded to the bp/sefa fund from a previous ESD Fund. The investment will be used by sefa to finance 50% of the capital needed by approved businesses, to acquire and develop service station properties. bpSA and sefa will jointly approve the beneficiary businesses.
“As part of our transformation journey and strengthening our convenience portfolio, building strong partnerships is key in ensuring the successful delivery of our business objectives, which are underpinned by a customer-centric strategy,” says Taelo Mojapelo, bp Southern Africa CEO. “As part of our retail transformation agenda, we aim to have 70% of our service stations operated by black dealers by 2025. To put that in context, bpSA currently has over 500 branded retail stations throughout the country, a number that is set to grow in the next year.”
The agreement is set to run for five years, and bpSA will contribute to the fund annually to ensure its growth and future impact. Both parties have agreed that it may be renewed. “Service station forecourts have become retail hubs that deliver a service to surrounding communities as well as motorists and present a range of opportunities to business owners. bpSA is looking to redefine convenience in key focus markets to offer customers what they need, where and when they need it,” says Mojapelo.
“Helping black-owned businesses enter this sector is a huge opportunity to create sustainable enterprises that provide employment opportunities. Access to capital is one of the main barriers to building a thriving entrepreneurial business community and we are proud to be working with bp to open up the energy sector to more black players,” says Mxolisi Matshamba, CEO at sefa. “We are delighted to be working with bpSA to drive further transformation of the country’s service stations.”
