Productivity SA is pleased to announce its endorsement of the inaugural Manufacturing Indaba. The event, which is being held at Emperor’s Palace, Johannesburg, on the 19th and 20th May 2014, will bring together public and private sector players from the manufacturing sector to debate, network and promote the growth of South Africa’s manufacturing industries.

Productivity SA is a Schedule 3A Public Entity with a mandate to enhance the productive capacity of South Africa by promoting a culture of productivity in workplaces, assisting companies in developing productivity competencies, facilitating and evaluating productivity and competitiveness systems and supporting initiatives that prevent job losses.

According to Bongani Coka, CEO of Productivity SA, endorsing the Manufacturing Indaba aligns with the organisation’s key strategic objectives. “Productivity SA believes that sustained productivity improvement is the path to competitive success and poverty elimination. In order to address the country’s challenges incremental thinking must abandoned and sights must be set on creating breakthrough levels of productivity improvement, which the Manufacturing Indaba will facilitate in accomplishing,” says Coka.

Liz Hart is Managing Director of the organisers Siyenza. “We are delighted that Productivity SA has come on board as an endorsing partner of the Manufacturing Indaba,” says Hart. “We are very pleased with the launch of the Manufacturing Indaba because we see the growth potential for job creation and skills development of this sector. Our economy desperately needs a strong and innovative manufacturing base and we must continue to work together to promote prosperity through manufacturing, science and innovation,” added  Hart. 

The Manufacturing Indaba is also supported by the Manufacturing Circle, which is a lobbying and advocacy body that interacts with government and other stakeholders in order to review, debate and help formulate policies which will have a positive impact on South Africa’s manufacturing base. It is made up of a number of South Africa’s leading medium to large manufacturing companies from a wide range of industries.

Siyenza is no stranger to hosting large-scale business events that are strategically formulated to promote Africa as a business region of choice. The company’s Africa Energy Indaba is the continent’s premier energy event, endorsed by the World Energy Council and South African National Energy Association. The Infrastructure Africa Business Forum is its other main event, which is hosted in partnership with the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development.

For more info on this event, visit www.manufacturingindaba.co.za