After launching its Workshop Loyalty Programme ‘Arigato’, NGK SPARK PLUG South Africa started a new initiative called ‘My Workshop Story’ within the loyalty programme.
Together with GUD Filters, South Africa’s premium automotive filter brand, NGK SPARK PLUG South Africa formulated a strategy – called ‘Filpro’ – to assist informal service centers, garages and workshops from previously disadvantaged communities to uplift their businesses and establish a BBBEE (Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment) compliant enterprise within the automotive industry.
BBBEE is an integration programme launched by the South African government, forming part of the governments broader Black Economic Empowerment efforts, to reconcile South Africans and address the inequalities of apartheid by attempting to compensate for land that was repossessed from Africans. It encourages businesses to integrate black people in the workspace, support black businesses, and give back to poor black communities affected by land repossession.
In South Africa, enterprise development programmes such as Filpro continue to be of paramount importance. Given the barriers to entry that have traditionally existed in the South African economy, informal businesses tend to start and stay at the same level of activity. But not everyone who is at this “entry level” is an entrepreneur or wants to become one. These people also tend to be in the industry out of necessity rather than choice. The control situation in disadvantaged communities is gradually being dismantled, giving people in the communities more choices.
The recently launched ‘My Workshop Story’ initiative highlights the growth of 8 workshops that are part of the Filpro programme and shows how it has benefited the workshops to develop from a backyard garage to a fully-fledged workshop.
The stories serve new hope for equality across all demographics, bridging the inequalities of the past through new opportunities by providing upskilling and much-needed business assistance. And more importantly, they show that through these initiatives livelihoods can be supported, lives can be changed, communities uplifted, and positive influence injected into informal spaces.
Click here to access the individual workshop stories, hover over the images at the bottom of the page and choose a story to read.
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Very well thought through initiative and great way to create opportunities. Nice.
This is a good and inspiration to other workshops
Good idea
What an incredible opportunity – each workshop has touched on some very important topics!
Positive and well thought through initiative. Well done
Always live in hope, what a wonderful initiative. Great job guys.
Great Initiative ,well done
Good idea and can very helpful
So good to see the growth in both technical and business knowledge in these guys, they now have the knowledge to grow from strength to strength.
Fantastic idea, job creation is so needed in our day and age
Thank you for the great stories,good to read how the people started out with a few tools in back yards and are now successful business owners thanks to Filpro and NGK.Looking forward to future stories.
Great program, especially teaming up with a GUD.
Two great companies teaming up to assist our people grow. We’ll done and keep it up.
Together we shall all grow.