The transaction will see insurance giant, Liberty, buy back the shares in investment management company Stanlib currently owned by Quantum Leap, a company that is in turn 51 percent owned by Macozoma’s Safika Holdings and 49 percent owned by two trusts that represent 11 beneficiary organisations and companies.

The arrangement is a South African milestone, in that a major corporate player has partnered with a number of broad-based community organisations and business groups in a BEE deal that will benefit thousands of people at grass-roots level throughout the country. Those set to directly benefit from the unique transaction will include women, people infected and affected by Aids, the disabled, the historically black universities, as well as youth organisations, entrepreneurs and previously disadvantaged students.

“Broad-based black economic empowerment is central to the success of the South African economy,” says Macozoma, Safika's deputy chairperson, who also a former ANC activist and chairperson of Stanlib and Andisa Capital.

“This is an example of how a well-structured BEE deal can filter down, benefit and develop people at community level. If South Africa is to overcome the problems and legacies of the past, it is critical for broad-based groups to be included with the big players in the economy in BEE deals,” he says.

“This we did long before it was part of legislation or fashionable” he added.

One of those who will reap the fruits of the transaction is the New Africa Youth Trust, an organisation that focuses on amongst other things, developing young entrepreneurs, building governance skills within youth organisations, getting youngsters involved in environmental initiatives and a variety of crime prevention initiatives. Their potential share of the sale will be allocated to sustaining and boosting ongoing training programmes and initiatives.

“We believe that simply handing out cash grants is not nearly as effective as building skills and capacity,” says spokesperson, Donny Nadison.  “Our emphasis is on training youngsters and prospective entrepreneurs and then facilitating their access to the formal economy so they can go on to create jobs and improve the lot of their communities.  “This transaction will help us build further capacity and enable us to reach even more people. It is an example of real and genuine empowerment,” he says.

The effects of the transaction will be felt throughout the country. In the rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal, for example, the Association for Rural Advancement will use their windfall to continue in the fight to redress past injustices and secure land tenure for all. While in Springbok, the Namaqualand Association for Pre-school Education will bolster the services it provides to 1500 pre-school kids, their parents and teachers.

Broad-based community organisations that will share in the proceeds from the buy-back deal include Ditikeni Trust, the Historically Black Universities Trust, the Lithemba Trust, the New Africa Youth Trust, Northern Areas Trust, the Women's Development Foundation, the Student Sponsorship Programme, the Ahanang Trust, the CPSA Development Network, Disabled People of South Africa and the Zandile Investment Trust.