Programme period · 01 Jul 2026 – 30 Jun 2027 · 12 months
The Link South Africa
Proof of capability · 2024 ESD Report

Case study · Zensar (Pty) Ltd

The Link South Africa was entrusted by Zensar on 25 November 2024 to deliver a 12-month, 100% incubation-focused ESD intervention for 34 black-owned ICT SMMEs. 29 enterprises completed the programme, supported by a R1,956,000 mandate that included an R600,000 top-up in February 2025 — managed end-to-end on the same live client portal proposed here for 4Racing.

Reporting period
12 months
25 November 2024 – 05 December 2025
Beneficiaries enrolled
34
29 completed
Total programme cost
R1,956,000
Top-up: R600,000 (Feb 2025)
Sector
ICT
100% Black Owned · B-BBEE Level 1

Mandate & investment

On 25 November 2024, The Link South Africa was entrusted by Zensar to deliver a 12-month, 100% incubation-focused ESD intervention for black-owned ICT SMMEs. The initial mandate of R1,356,000 was supplemented by an additional R600,000 (Feb 2025), bringing the total programme investment to R1,956,000.

Enterprise Development
R1,413,600
Supplier Development
R542,400
Incubation focus
100%
100% high-touch business-development incubation

Cohort transformation performance

Transformation benchmarks · achieved vs. ESD threshold
Black Ownership100%
Exceeded · benchmark ≥ 51%
Women Participation52%
Exceeded · benchmark ≥ 30%
Youth Participation57%
Exceeded · benchmark ≥ 30%
Disability Inclusion10%
Exceeded · benchmark ≥ 2%

Sector spread of the 29-enterprise cohort

Beneficiaries by ICT sub-sector
29SMMEs
  • Digital Skills & 4IR Training17%
  • Software & App Development17%
  • ICT Infrastructure17%
  • Telecommunications17%
  • Business Process Automation14%
  • IT Support & Managed Services17%

Outcomes delivered

Total programme investment
R1,956,000
Beneficiaries enrolled
34
Beneficiaries completed
29
Cohort completion rate
85.3%
Black ownership across cohort
100%
Women participation
52%
Youth participation
57%
Disability inclusion
10%
Verified jobs created
28
Projected jobs (12-month horizon)
116
Total job potential
144
Capital impact multiplier
3.10×
Economic activity catalysed
R6,063,600
Cost per job created
R69,857
Cost per enterprise supported
R67,448

15-module curriculum delivered

  1. ›Module 1 – Needs Assessment & Business Intelligence Tools
  2. ›Module 2 – Strategic Branding & Market Positioning
  3. ›Module 3 – Sales Strategy & Customer Acquisition
  4. ›Module 4 – Tender Readiness & Compliance
  5. ›Module 5 – ICT Capability & Software Development
  6. ›Module 6 – Supply Chain & Working Capital
  7. ›Module 7 – OEM Pathways · Microsoft Partnership & Accreditation
  8. ›Module 8 – Growth & Commercialisation
  9. ›Module 9 – Mentorship & Advisory
  10. ›Module 10 – Process Documentation, SOPs & Quality Management
  11. ›Module 11 – Strategy Refinement & Business Model Canvas Review
  12. ›Module 12 – Lean Operations, Workflow Automation & Performance Metrics
  13. ›Module 13 – Corporate & Public-Sector Client Engagement
  14. ›Module 14 – Advanced Tender Preparation & Bid-Writing Masterclass
  15. ›Module 15 – Scaling, Commercial & Investment Readiness

Client testimonial

"The Link South Africa's portal gave us complete visibility — every mentoring session, every compliance fix, every rand spent. 29 of our 34 SMMEs completed the programme, and our verification went through first time."
— Zensar ESD Sponsor (reference contactable on shortlisting)

Why this matters for 4Racing

The Zensar engagement was run end-to-end on the same live client portal proposed here for 4Racing. Every module under Client Portal Preview in this proposal is a working preview — populated with sample data — of the experience 4Racing's authorised users will receive once the contract is signed. The Zensar cohort achieved an 85.3% completion rate, exceeded every transformation benchmark, and catalysed R6,063,600 of economic activity from a R1,956,000 investment — the same delivery discipline will be applied to the 4Racing programme.