Productivity SA endorses inaugural Manufacturing Indaba

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 be abandoned and sights set on creating breakthrough levels of productivity improvement, which the Manufacturing Indaba will facilitate in accomplishing," says Coka.

Liz Hart is MD 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

More about the Manufacturing Indaba:

The conference programme will include plenary sessions as well as breakaway debate sessions to unpack and encourage active participation at the event. Topics to be discussed include:

• What are the challenges and opportunities facing the South African manufacturing sector in the next five years?
  
• Localisation as a global trend: Developing and maintaining a skilled workforce.
  
• Opportunities for growth in the small business manufacturing environment and how can big manufacturers benefit from small business?
  
• What incentives are there to ensure foreign investment and establishment of global companies in the South African manufacturing sector?
  
• Access to finance
  
• Strategies for growth and competitive advantage including the productivity debate

More about Productivity SA:

Productivity SA's key priority is to assist local companies, including those in the manufacturing sector, to compete in the global economy through productivity solutions and mind-sets. The interventions implemented towards the path to competitive success range from identifying key "productivity drivers" to building sustainable enterprises to the pros and cons of global human resource migration to learning the best practices of leading enterprises. Tapping into the culture of South Africa, the interventions are fuelled by the richness of the diversity which generates innovation and inspiration. Through efforts of Productivity SA, South Africa is empowered to create a greater focus on improving the productivity of its manufacturing sector and recognise the necessity of dialogue and collaboration among management, labour, government and education to achieve these results.