Our Enterprise Supplier Development Programme (ESDP), which is focused on start-ups and small ICT companies, continues to yield success. This programmedoes more than just satisfy legislated ESD requirements; we have developed and refined it for the South African environment with a single goal—to deliver maximum shared value.. The two-year programmeincludes training, mentoring, business development support, early payments, access to markets and collaboration. To enable the efficient delivery of SME and ESD programmes, Accenture has built a SME Digital Ecosystem (SME-DE) platform. SHAPE OF SUCCESS Since its pilot run in 2015 with seven SMEs, the ESDP has successfully graduated 18 businesses. Six of the seven businesses from our pilot programme remain Accenture suppliers, with three of them now in our top spend categories reaching generic business status. In 2018, we graduated 11 companies who were part of the 2016 ESDP intake and all have seen significant growth in their businesses, achieving a combined 63 percent increase in revenue and 55 percent increase in new employment. Of the companies that have participated in the programme, 100 percent are still operational, and 60 percent are now Accenture suppliers and partners Copyright © 2020 Accenture. All rights reserved. 17