The laws surrounding BEE?

[Dave A]

But are you really not BEE compliant? It's actually quite a mission not to be.
To achieve a low score is one thing, being not compliant is another completely.

[Moneymaker]

Well my understanding at the time was I am a white dude who wrote some books and developed a game, I went around the country speaking to people on financial subjects. Had no staff? I'd lost several business deals in other companies because we never met the standard despite having a 70/30 affirmative/non-affirmative ratio...so figured 100% whitey = failing score?

[Dave A]

Originally, BEE was very narrow and looked at ownership only. This has now been widened considerably.

But even as an individual, with a turnover of less than R5 million per annum you're an "exempt enterprise." Therefor, BEE compliant.

Sure, that turnover can be exceeded by an individual, but as you have already shown, those that exceed those turnovers generally have something going for them that overcomes problems that BEE rating might pose.

[duncan drennan]

Sure, that turnover can be exceeded by an individual, but as you have already shown, those that exceed those turnovers generally have something going for them that overcomes problems that BEE rating might pose.

I think something that a lot of people don't realise is that BEE is structured around procurement, not ownership. The focus has been on ownership, but the codes all point to procurement. Let me explain....

Your BEE rating only plays one role in another companies BEE rating, and that is under the procurement pillar. The idea is to encourage companies to buy from BEE companies, as that will improve their own rating. Obviously in practice things run a little differently, but that is the theory behind it - as least the way I read the codes.

The flip side of that reality is that if you have something to offer which is more important than your BEE rating, there is nothing stopping another company from buying from you. The procurement points they get from you are either zero or reduced (depending on your particular BEE level). Also remember that their procurement points are based on the percentage of their total procurement spend with you e.g. if the company has a R100mil procurement spend, and they spend R100k with you, the points are something along the lines of 0.1% x (your rating), which in this example plays a very small role.

There is no law which says you MUST be BEE compliant (AFAIK). If you work closely with the government and have competition then you would practically be required to comply in some way. Otherwise evaluate it as part of a wider strategy in growing your business, and each case will be different.