Enter 8 more black-owned brokerages

THE GRADUATION of eight black-owned brokerages in Gauteng last week gives a welcome boost to the much needed transformation of the insurance industry.

According to JSE data, black stockbroking firms collectively make up less than 2 percent of the value traded on the stock exchange, Sibongiseni Mbatha, the president of the Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals, said recently.

The eight brokerages, who graduated last week were: LKC Business Consult, Royal Square Consultants, Shomang Group, V K Consult, Jabulani Moyo, RightSure Risk Managers, Sibanyoni Brokers and ISU Financial Services.

The 18-month programme was targeted at black-owned brokerages in Gauteng and aimed to provide business development support.

The Momentum Masibambane Broker Initiative programme was delivered in partnership with the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (Asisa) through the Asisa Enterprise Development Fund (EDF) and managed and executed by enterprise and supplier development providers, Edge Growth and EncoreSA.

The initiative formed part of MMI Holding’s Masikhulise Enterprise and Supplier Development Trust, a ringfenced broad-based ownership scheme, which houses the group’s enterprise and supplier development initiatives and invests in the sustainability of small to medium sized enterprises.

Fiona Ally, a group lead for enterprise and supplier development at MMI Holdings, said: “By helping to develop brokerages in our communities we are not only securing the financial wellness of the SMEs (small and medium enterprises), but also ensuring that appropriate financial advice and solutions are made available to the community.”

Ruth Benjamin-Swales, the chief executive of the Asisa Foundation and managing trustee of the Asisa EDF, said access to the market, building a solid client base and support from the industry were the main challenges that many financial intermediaries faced.

joseph.booysen@inl.co.za