While transformation continues to be a contentious issue, only a few people are at the forefront of it, especially those who want to see real change. One such person is Neo Molefe of Transcend Corporate Advisors, a specialist in corporate strategy development, B-BBEE implementation, and scorecard development.
Transcend provides mechanisms and tools that South African businesses can use to bridge the gap of inequalities. So, being a director of Transcend Corporate Advisors puts Molefe in the driver’s seat of transformation. He has been steering the consulting firm in the right direction for the past six years.
This unassuming business leader, who grew up in Thaba-Nchu, is today a business magnate of note. He recalls his upbringing poignantly: “Growing up in the early ‘90s meant there weren’t many opportunities for us. This is what inspired me to succeed,” he says.
Molefe, through the support of his LLB scholarship, attained work placement in the legal fraternity, which later informed his cross-industry desire and passion for reading, interpreting, and helping businesses in the process.
B-BBEE, at its inception, was meant to be an economic tool. Its objective, amongst other things, was to rectify the racial injustices created by the apartheid government.
“People tend to associate Transcend to B-BBEE only, but we like to think of ourselves as something more different than that. BEE has the connotation that it is all about the scorecard and the numbers (for example, let’s get to 55 points, and we’re compliant). But as Transcend, we like to see ourselves as a transformation house. We believe more in transformation in addition to B-BBEE, and we typically say as part of our slogan that we aim for going “beyond compliance” of the scorecard, and “getting transformation right”. Engraving the substance and spirit of transformation into the fabric of the organisation is a challenge that any large corporate must address.”
Transcend has three divisions: a transformation division, of which Molefe is a director in, sustained: “We strive to fix a social narrative and build transformative B-BBEE strategies. “ Molefe agrees that social change will not be an overnight success. He also implores entities to step beyond the parameters of the BEE scorecard and find proactive approaches that will yield transformation. “By way of example, one of the most untransformed sectors in South Africa is agriculture. One of my practice areas is working with clients under AgriBEE sector charter. A prominent question arising in these businesses is how do we get more points? How do we fix the scorecard? And to us, it is not about the B-BBEE points. We ask how you can go about fixing the problems in your value chain first before fixing the points. What are you doing to develop black farmers? And most importantly, what are you doing to skill black farmers? Once we contextualize these questions, we can then start thinking of solutions to transform the sector, which will yield results on the scorecard.” The 4IR has affected many businesses, and Covid-19 has accelerated the need to digitize Molefe’s industry. “Skills development and online learning is an example of one area that is focal point of our business. They dictate what direction our business takes and what direction our clients take. Since we have adapted well to changes, we have evolved and today see more programs being offered online, “Molefe quips. Other digital innovations in Transcend’s industry include digital automatic scorecard calculators that clients can access to track their transformation progress. “We, along with our clients, had to find new ways of adopting e-learning as an integral part of our business,” Molefe adds. Transformation carries divergent meanings for people. To Molefe, it means nation-building, “To me, transformation means nation-building, and ensuring that everyone gets fair economic opportunities.”
