JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Mining giant Anglo American and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) have launched a R500-million fund that would work toward poverty alleviation and job creation in poverty nodes and high unemployment areas and communities.

The DBSA and Anglo would each donate R250-million to Anglo’s enterprise development arm Zimele’s Sebenza Fund in a public–private partnership aimed at creating an additional 8 000 meaningful and sustainable jobs over the next three years.

This was in addition to Zimele’s commitment to creating and sustaining 25 000 jobs by 2015.

Zimele mostly channelled its capital through four funds, with Sebenza becoming the fifth. The other funds were the Community Fund, the Supply Chain Fund, the Green Fund and the Anglo American Sefa Mining Fund.

Zimele, which was established 23 years ago, had contributed to the creation of 60 000 nonmining jobs in South Africa, Brazil and Chile, and, since 2008, injected R800-million to support more than 1 400 small enterprises employing more than 25 000 people and collectively generating about R3.5-billion in turnover each year, said Anglo CEO Mark Cutifani on Thursday.

“Our experience to date shows that small enterprises play an important role in maintaining and enhancing the social fabric of local communities,” he said.

The newly established Sebenza fund – based on the model of the successful community fund – would, over the next three years, establish 30 new walk-in business hubs throughout poverty-stricken regions in South Africa, in addition to the 32 Zimele business hubs that were already in place.

The hubs would provide access to affordable finance, and ongoing business support, structure and mentorship programmes to entrepreneurs and existing businesses throughout the country, including labour sending areas, said Anglo executive director Kanyisile Kweyama.

“ … corporate social investment … includes spending time, money and energy on understanding your communities’ needs, instilling needed skills, developing human capital and embracing them as your partners… providing them with the opportunity to share in the socioeconomic benefits generated by your industry… in our instance, the benefits created by the mining sector,” he stressed.

Enterprise development was critical for South Africa to reach its economic and transformation goals, and to mitigate the high unemployment rate of about 25%.