Worley Enterprise Supplier Development initiative supports meaningful transformation of the Southern Africa economy by providing tangible opportunities for small businesses to prosper and expand.
Worley’s ESD partners range from ESD core partner companies to ESD extended partner companies and ESD alumni partner companies. The programme assists the ESD partner companies with capability and capacity building.
“The Worley ESD initiative is one of the few corporate social responsibility programmes in South Africa with real success stories that attest to how positive transformation can happen,” says Gladwin Mfolo, Worley Senior Project Manager, citing Gridbow Engineering and Technical Services as one such example.
This award-winning electrical engineering company specialises in energy audits, generator installations, and UPS services, and is now an alumni partner company in the Worley ESD programme.
“Gridbow’s entrepreneurial journey with Worley has been an amazing success story, and the company has grown to over 60 permanent employees and has expanded its business operations as far as sub- Saharan Africa and Australia,” says Mfolo.
Mfolo cites iX engineers as a further example. Established in 2016, iX engineers are a Worley ESD extended partner company offering professional consulting engineering services. iX engineers have worked nationally as well as across most continents and are well versed in international best practices.
“These two companies are now at the point where they are able to fulfil their own socio-economic obligations and can operate independently. The wheel has come full circle and their success is testament to our ESD programme working the way it was intended,” comments Mfolo.
Another Worley extended ESD partner, ST Nubian Architects, is currently engaged with the design and layout of a simulated underground mining environment for the University of Johannesburg, following successfully tendering for the project with mining engineering assistance from Worley. Mfolo explains that this project fits well with Worley’s ESD
initiative by supporting an educational institution that may in turn potentially provide valuable human resources to the company.
“As the programme continues to mature, we expect to see more and more joint delivery of services while exposing our ESD partner companies to worldclass delivery systems and transferring skills and capabilities to help these companies and the industry as a whole grow,” concludes Mfolo.
