Join Leaders Shaping SA’s Inclusive Economy

Summit brings together leaders to transform marginalised business models into drivers of employment and wealth creation

Across South Africa, thousands of cooperatives, community property associations and small enterprises have operated for decades on the margins of the formal economy.

Now, Kagiso Trust and the Centre for the Advancement of Dynamic Enterprises (CADE) are bringing together leaders from government, business, academia and civil society to chart a way for these “dynamic enterprises” to drive inclusive growth and dignified job creation.

The inaugural CADE Summit in Pretoria on 4–5 May will address a fundamental question: how can these marginalised enterprises become competitive, scalable businesses?

Madumezulu Girlie Silinda, Executive Director of CADE and founder of Arche Advisory, says the challenge is not a lack of demand, policy intent or capital availability, it is the absence of a coherent enterprise architecture capable of translating opportunity into sustainable economic participation at scale.

“South Africa has land, infrastructure, procurement budgets and market demand, yet the enterprise layer that should be absorbing and multiplying these resources remains weak, fragmented, and lacking in governance,” says Silinda, who has a strong background in rural enterprise revitalisation and economic justice advocacy.

From market failure to economic opportunity

The CADE Summit at the CSIR International Convention Centre, featuring a keynote address by Bidvest and ArcelorMittal chair Bonang Mohale, responds to what Silinda describes as this structural market failure.

Dynamic (or collective) enterprises – defined as cooperatives, communal property associations, SMEs, family businesses, and other entities operating outside mainstream business structures – often struggle to transition from survival to competitiveness despite serving real needs in agriculture, property, manufacturing and services.

Meanwhile, municipalities are asset-rich but cash-constrained, lacking mechanisms to stimulate sustainable local enterprise activity that strengthens revenue generation and improves payment culture.

Quinton Naidoo, Kagiso Trust’s Head of Socio-Economic Development, says collective enterprises are potential catalysts for meaningful economic participation and local wealth creation.

“But we also recognise that igniting human capacity requires more than good intentions – it requires the systemic conditions, enterprise architecture, and patient capital that enable communities to build competitive ventures capable of sustained participation in the economy,” he says.

Repositioning dynamic enterprises

The summit theme, “Reimagining and repositioning dynamic enterprises as engines of inclusive growth and dignified employment”, signals a shift from treating these ventures as social welfare instruments to building them as competitive economic actors.

Key questions to be explored include:

What financing models can unlock sustainable, long-term investment into dynamic enterprises?
How can cooperatives and community ventures integrate effectively into modern value chains?
What enterprise architecture enables municipal assets, public procurement and development finance to land productively at local level?
What strategic partnerships and governance structures are required to transition enterprises from survival to scale?

Summit participants include Mtho Xulu, president of the SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Mzi Dayimani, CEO of the National Empowerment Fund.

For Kagiso Trust, the summit aligns with four decades of work advancing sustainable socio-economic transformation and community ownership.

Paul Smith, the Trust’s Head of Local Governance Support Programme, says sustainable local governance is fundamental to the success of collective enterprises.

“Through platforms such as the CADE Summit, we hope to foster collaboration between communities, government and the private sector to build accountable, enabling environments where these enterprises can thrive,” he says.