An agribusiness's dedication to community upliftment

For agribusiness NWK, located in Lichtenburg, North West, corporate social investment is an important part of creating a positive influence alongside financial returns. Johan Bezuidenhout, NWK’s group manager of corporate marketing and communication, spoke to Annelie Coleman about why the company chooses to invest millions of rands in the area it operates in every year.

- Johan Bezuidenhout

NWK, the oldest agribusiness in South Africa, was able to allocate more than R4 million during the 2023/24 financial year to the improvement of the lives of communities in its operating area.

Johan Bezuidenhout, group manager of corporate marketing and communication at NWK, says the funds were invested with enormous appreciation for the communities in which the company operates.

“No company functions in isolation, and our company needs the communities in which it operates to thrive in order to be successful itself,” he says.

According to Bezuidenhout, service delivery in the rural areas of North West is deteriorating at an alarming rate, and many of the municipalities are unable to fulfil their mandates in this regard.

The high rate of unemployment leaves many households in the province without sufficient funds to properly care for their children, with education often falling by the wayside.

“We are well aware that these children form the future workforce of the company and therefore greatly invest in their education. The saying ‘charity begins at home’ rings true in this instance.

“As South Africa’s oldest agricultural company, we’ve made it our mission to play a positive role in the community. We have several projects and outreaches in place that aim to address poverty on many levels,” says Bezuidenhout.

“This includes the sponsoring of shopping vouchers for jobless volunteers who help clean up the town before the company hosts its annual golf day, during which hundreds of thousands of rands are raised for deserving non-profit organisations.