The Distell Development Trust renamed the Makwande Empowerment Trust is accelerating its efforts to empower marginalised mostly rural women and youth through educational, skills and social investment. This is according to chairman Dr Benny Mokaba, who was addressing guests at a recent Stellenbosch event to mark the name change and to highlight the trust’s revised strategic collaborative approach to empowerment.
Named for the Nguni word “let there be growth”, the Makwande trust emerged from a B-BBEE (Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment) deal imperative set by HEINEKEN Beverages, when it acquired Distell in 2023.
Mokaba said the trust, operating as a broad-based ownership scheme (B-BOS), was stepping up its aim to be “a catalyst for positive change” through a variety of programmes being implemented countrywide.
CEO Lwazi Mankahla confirmed that since its inception in 2014, the trust had impacted 11 000 people. “Our mandate is to continue to serve as an enabler, but now of empowerment more than just development, so we can take people from a place of despair to a place of hope.
“Since the establishment of HEINEKEN Beverages roughly a year ago, the trust has grown from 11 to 17 projects, from four to seven provinces. We’re truly excited about the impact we’ve set out to make.
“However, we’re not just chasing to be in nine provinces with an endless array of projects. If we invest in 20 projects, for example, the aim is to grow these initiatives organically so we can make an enduring and sustainable rather than a quick-fix change”.
“And now, more so than ever before, we’re in a position through our shareholding in HEINEKEN Beverages, to fast-track our work and make it count at a deeper level. With greater resources at our disposal, we can both broaden and importantly, deepen our reach.”
He added that the new name had come from extensive consultation with stakeholders, particularly beneficiary partners, on what the work of the trust meant to them. “That’s how we arrived at the name of Makwande. To many it means a blessing, abundance, shared prosperity, multiplication – all echoing growth, in this instance moving from mere development to real empowerment. This is further demonstrated in our change from a development to an empowerment trust.”
HEINEKEN Beverages MD, Jordi Borrut, underscored the company’s commitment to the trust and its philosophy of cherishing the old, while embracing the new. “No company can thrive, sustainably, in a failing society, certainly not in the long term. Therein lies our opportunity and resolve. We feel that by doing well for the business, we do well for the trust. This is our business purpose. We are here to craft true togetherness to inspire a better world.”
Current and potential beneficiary partners from across the country were present at the relaunch, joining the celebration, praising the work of the trust to date and expressing their optimism for the future. These organisations undertake impactful empowerment work in communities, made possible by collaboration with and funding by the trust. Their focus areas span from small business management, farming, tourism and hospitality services to support of tertiary students, maths and science training, emotional and youth development, literacy, as well as teaching revenue-producing skills like sewing and gardening.
The trust’s current beneficiary partners:
African Solutions to African Problems
Imithayelanga Youth Development
Ray Mhlaba Skills Training Centre
SAME Foundation: Masia Maths and Science Academy
SAME Foundation: Sandakahle Primary School
UWC Making a Difference Project
Click here to watch a video of the relaunch ceremony.
