SAB supports women-owned businesses through Lerumo Programme

The establishment of SAB KickStart, SAB Foundation, SAB Accelerator illustrates the commitment to providing a tangible and sustainable future for South Africans who are passionate about the brewery. Over the years, the major brewery also designed an initiative called SAB Lerumo Programme which specifically targets black women who are running small-to-medium enterprises in the beverage manufacturing industry with the intention of helping them to thrive and prosper in commercial markets. Phumzile Chifunyise, Enterprise Development Manager at SAB and AB InBev Africa, added that SAB’s entrepreneurship development programmes applied “a holistic approach to development by offering bespoke interventions relevant to the SMME size and sector”.

One of SAB Lerumo Programme 2019 recipient’s is Mosibudi Makgato of RM Catering Services trading as YaMama Gemmer. In partnership with her sister Rosemary Padi, they came up with a non-alcoholic homemade ginger beer which was passed down to them by their mother. The Proudly SA supported beer is SABS tested and contains no artificial preservatives or additives and can be found in Gauteng, Free State and the North West. The Duo plans to expand to the Eastern Cape and Polokwane soon.

Makgato found out about the programme through social media where she was tagged by a person who knows about the product. She says the programme has given them access to the market, exposed them to funding institutions, helps them with accreditation and industry-standard certification. Makgato highlighted one of the main key issues faced by entrepreneurs in the brewery sector and admired the program for assisting her. She says “I have a brilliant product but it doesn’t have a long shelf life to be in the market in terms of retail and reaching larger markets. We are currently working on a solution with SAB,”.

The five-month programme consists of targeted business mentorship, market access linkages, need-based asset investment, industry panel discussions and bespoke consultations with SAB’s very own industry experts. To qualify for the programme, participants must run beverage manufacturing businesses, which are either alcoholic or non-alcoholic, are at least 51% woman-owned, have been operational for at least a year.