Exposure to potential clients, access to professional guidance and assistance with compliance and cash flow management are the major benefits cited by emerging businesses in UWP Consulting’s supplier development programme.

UWP, a nationally based civil and structural engineering consulting practice, is partnering successfully with several emerging firms around South Africa. All are professional service providers in the infrastructure/built environment sector and potential suppliers of services to UWP and its clients.

“Our supplier development partners have competencies that complement ours and will add value when we tender for new work together,” explains UWP CEO Nonkululeko Sindane.

“​The opportunity to work with professionals who have been in the industry for years has been the most significant aspect of my association with UWP. They have shared not only technical expertise, but the skills required to run and manage the business,” says Gugulethu (Gugu) Sithole, director of Ziphelele Planning and Environmental Consultancy (ZPEC) in Durban.

Thokozani Mntambo, coordinator of UWP’s supplier development programme, explains that partner firms receive assistance ranging from professional mentoring, guidance in IT, HR and financial matters and opportunities for joint tendering, to early payments for work done to ease cash flow, interest-free loans, and office space to extend reach into new areas.

A believable brand

Four companies partnering with UWP’s supplier development programme agreed that their greatest barriers to success included penetrating the market as “newcomers”, cash flow, managing growth and retaining talent.

“Our biggest challenge has been establishing our business as a believable brand,” says Gugu Sithole of ZPEC, which provides town and regional planning services. “It has been difficult as a black female entering an industry dominated by well-established, experienced organisations with mainly men in professional roles. This has sharpened my determination to prove my skills and excel.

“In the past two years UWP has provided both financial and non-financial support to grow our business, including training and mentorship programmes as well as help in branding and marketing our business,” says Sithole.

“In the two years since the association began, ZPEC’s client base has increased immensely. We are getting the exposure that we have been struggling to achieve for years.

“My hope is to help transform the industry by proving that young black women have the skills and capabilities to participate meaningfully in urban and rural development. I will strive to be a positive influence for all women who want to be visionaries in planning and development fields.”