IFC’s joint investment and advisory services program helped South Africa’s Lonmin Platinum train and develop SMEs in the local supply chain and improve its relationship with local communities.
This combined support shows how IFC’s investment and advisory services can work together to address a client’s needs. A $150 million financing package, joined with a three-year advisory program, enabled Lonmin, the world’s third largest platinum producer, to strengthen the socioeconomic development of rural mining communities in South Africa.
Key impacts of IFC’s work with Lonmin include:
- Facilitating 300 supplier contracts worth $45 million with 45 local SMEs
- Providing business development training sessions to over 1,000 SME owners under the Local Supplier Development Program
- Developing policies to help recruit female workers to Lonmin under the Women in Mining program
- Training peer volunteers and conducting HIV/AIDS awareness sessions to reach over 195,000 people
- Establishing a multi-stakeholder development dialogue forum, which meets quarterly to plan further community interventions.
IFC also helped the company institute measures to ensure the continuity and sustainability of the program after IFC’s exit, which occurred last week. Among the tools and policies handed back to Lonmin were an SME directory, a geographical information system, and a system to track managers’ performance in recruiting women.
"The end of IFC's partnership with Lonmin does not mean the end of our commitment to supporting the development of the communities around our operations,” said Barnard Mokwena, Lonmin Executive VP for External Affairs and Human Capital. He named managers who will be “responsible for ensuring continuity of the work that IFC has helped us put together.”
Building the Supply Chain with Support to SMEs
Local entrepreneurs like Elvis Mabale, who built up his own construction company and presently employs 34 people, received support from a project management training program developed and sponsored by IFC Advisory Services.
The training increased the pool of local suppliers by providing guidance to local SMEs on meeting Lonmin’s tendering, financial, and technical needs. This allowed entrepreneurs, including Elvis, to win an increasing number of contracts from the company.
Emmanuel Nyirinkindi, Acting General Manager, IFC PEP Africa, said IFC’s work has thousands of direct and indirect beneficiaries.
“They were our ultimate clients, and we thank them profoundly for helping to make the program the success that we think it has been,” he said.
