B-BBEE was established in the B-BBEE Act 53 of 2003 then Amended Act 46 of 2013. The first Codes were issued in February 2007, amended in October 2013, and revised in May 2019.
The Codes redress the inequalities of the past. It was established to empower Black People by:
- More people to own and manage enterprises
- Achieving substantial change in racial composition of ownership and management structures and in skilled occupations of existing and new enterprises
- Promote access to finance for black economic empowerment
- Ensure that black-owned enterprises have access to government’s preferential procurement policies
- Increase the extent in which black women own and manage existing and new enterprises
Who qualifies as the beneficiary in B-BBEE?
- Black People as defined by the Codes (African, Coloured and Indians) who are South African citizens by birth or decent OR
- Black people who became citizens by naturalisation before 27 April 1994 OR
- Who would have been entitled to acquire citizenship by naturalisation prior to that date.
