Zevoli Growth Partners, a leading South African Enterprise and Supplier Development service provider, today announced the launch of SharedImpact, an innovative online platform that enables corporates to sponsor Business Development Support services, operational tools, and resources for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) capacity building.
Addressing a Gap in the Market
SharedImpact is designed specifically to serve mid-sized corporates, businesses generating between R50 million and R250 million in revenue annually, that are required to spend 3% of after-tax profits on ESD initiatives under their B-BBEE obligations.
“SharedImpact is an online platform that facilitates SMME capacity building by marrying up the capacity building and capability development needs of small businesses with mid-size corporates that are committed to spending their ESD budgets on meaningful and sustainable interventions,” explains Zevoli CEO and co-founder Mpopi Khupe.
Companies in this revenue range typically operate with smaller ESD budgets and have historically been underserved by traditional ESD implementation partners, who tend to focus on larger corporates. As a result, mid-sized corporates often fall prey to supporting unvetted MSMEs recommended through biased and subjective sources, with no reliable way to verify whether the MSME is the right candidate for support or how the funds were ultimately spent.
Moving Beyond the Tick-Box
“This is an undesirable situation, because such initiatives do not have any meaningful impact and simply become a tick-box exercise for companies to earn points on their B-BBEE scorecards, instead of building the capacity of SMMEs, a segment that significantly contributes to job creation and economic growth,” says Khupe.
“On the other hand, there are hundreds of MSMEs that applied to but did not make it into ESD programmes, yet still need support and development. There is no other comparable, seamless solution in the market where these two worlds logically come together. SharedImpact facilitates exactly this partnership.”
“SharedImpact gives us the ability to aggregate mid-sized companies’ smaller budgets. At the aggregated level, we have a more impactful budget for the most well-suited ESD capacity-building interventions, allowing us to reach more MSMEs and forge deeper engagements.”
How SharedImpact Works
The SharedImpact platform follows a structured, end-to-end process:
- Zevoli conducts a diagnostic assessment of each MSME and draws up a tailored growth plan with specific interventions
- This basket of interventions ranges from business mentorship, learning and development to the provision of operational tools and equipment
- Mid-sized corporates log on to the platform, indicate their budget and implementation timelines, and are directed to the most well-suited package
- Once the corporate provides the required information, they can securely purchase via the online platform or download a proforma invoice for internal approvals
- The Zevoli team then executes the applicable basket of interventions, typically over six weeks to nine months, through a combination of virtual and in-person engagements with the MSMEs
- Once interventions are implemented, the required B-BBEE verification documents are made available securely on the platform
Tailored to Each MSME’s Needs
While the fundamentals of the programmes remain consistent, each programme and the tools provided are specific to an individual MSME’s development needs. The implemented initiatives are matched to the specific requirements of each small business, creating a bespoke basket of Business Development Support interventions for every participant.
“Essentially, SharedImpact gives us the ability to aggregate mid-sized companies’ smaller budgets. At the aggregated level, we have a more impactful budget for the most well-suited ESD capacity-building interventions, allowing us to reach more MSMEs and forge deeper engagements,” Khupe concludes.
ABOUT ZEVOLI GROWTH PARTNERS
Zevoli Growth Partners is a South African Enterprise and Supplier Development service provider committed to building the capacity and capability of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Through structured, outcome-driven ESD programmes, Zevoli bridges the gap between corporates and small businesses, enabling meaningful supply chain participation, economic transformation, and lasting community impact. SharedImpact is Zevoli’s purpose-built platform connecting mid-sized corporates with verified MSMEs for impactful, transparent ESD delivery.
