African Petrochemicals Nov/Dec Edition 14.6 {2017}

ENTREPRENEURS KEY TO
ADDRESSING SOUTH AFRICA’S
DESPERATE JOBS CRISIS
SASOL SIGNS US$3,9
BILLION FIVE-YEAR
REVOLVING CREDIT
FACILITY
South Africans must embrace
the entrepreneurial culture
because the old days of
jobs waiting for them after
graduation are long gone.
The country’s economic future
depends instead on the quality of
its entrepreneurs, in whose hands
most future jobs – and income
generation – will lie.
That was the warning sounded by
Unathi Njokweni-Magida, Engen’s
head of Transformation and
Stakeholder Engagement, as the
company prepares to host the 2017
finals of its acclaimed Pitch & Polish
initiative.
A passionate Njokweni-Magida said the
programme, of which Engen has been
the title sponsor for the past six years,
has already helped approximately 10 000
South Africans realise their entrepreneurial
ambitions.
“Many of these people have been running
small businesses for years, with no idea of
how to grow them further. Others have
great ideas but lack the confidence and the
business savvy necessary to present them to
the banks or possible investors and persuade
someone to back them financially.
“This is where Pitch & Polish steps in, running
nine workshops across the country annually
to teach them what they need to know,” she
explains.
Although Engen awards life-changing prizes
to the entrepreneurs placed in the top three
each year, thousands of other participants
also benefit from the expert presentations.
“It’s an amazing learning experience for
everyone who attends, and their many
success stories are proof they leave with
a new mindset, a new vision for their
businesses, and the advice necessary to help
turn their plans into reality,” says Njokweni-
Magida.
While Engen Pitch & Polish is a B.E.E. initiative
in the company’s Enterprise Development
portfolio, she is adamant its involvement
is no political marketing ploy, but Engen’s
contribution to making a difference to the
communities where it does its business.
Unathi Magida-Njokweni, Engen’s head of
Transformation and Stakeholder Engagement
“Poverty and unemployment is rife in
South Africa. With unemployment at
37%, the government and private sector
cannot provide much needed employment
solutions. Corporates must step up and do
the right thing.”
While Engen isn’t naïve about how the
company also benefits in this “ecosystem of
progress”, it is the stories of businesses that
started with two staff members and now
employ 300 that really drive their continued
involvement, adds Njokweni-Magida.
“We focus not only on training during our
workshops, but also provide participants
with materials and networks that they can
use once they leave us. They also get the kind
of exposure they’d never normally get and
we’ve even seen some of the Engen Pitch &
Polish beneficiaries invited to international
events as a result.”
Pitch & Polish, she stressed, is Engen’s
contribution to helping alleviate poverty and
creating much-needed jobs.
“If we can do that, then we are able to assist
communities to function properly. If we
don’t, then our rising poverty statistics will
tell the story of how we failed to rise to the
challenge,” cautions Njokweni-Magida.
The semi-finals of Engen Pitch & Polish
2017 are scheduled for November 23,
and the finals for November 30, both in
Johannesburg.
Sasol, the South African chemicals
and energy company, has increased
its existing US$1,5 billion Revolving
Credit Facility (“the Facility”) to US$3,9
billion and extended the maturity to five
years with the inclusion of two further
extension options of one year each.
Sasol launched this transaction with a
targeted facility size of US$3,0 billion,
which was subsequently increased
to US$3,9 billion given the notable
oversubscription.
Citi and Mizuho Bank, Ltd. were mandated
as Joint Global Co-ordinators for the
transaction, which launched in early
November 2017 to a targeted group of
banks. The Joint Global Co-ordinators
each pre-committed to the transaction
and invited banks to commit at one of
three ticket levels with the following titles:
Bookrunner and Mandated Lead Arranger
(BMLA), Mandated Lead Arranger (MLA)
and Lead Arranger. The Company also
accommodated a limited number of
smaller tickets with the Arranger title.
Syndication closed oversubscribed with17
banks committing, allowing Sasol to
increase the Facility and offer scale back
to the Joint Global Co-ordinators, BMLAs
and the MLAs.
Along with the Joint Global Co-ordinators,
there were eight other BMLAs: ABN AMRO
Bank N.V., Bank of America Merrill Lynch,
BNP Paribas S.A. South Africa Branch,
Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Luxembourg S.A..,
J.P. Morgan Securities plc., The Bank of
Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., Sumitomo
Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe
Limited and UniCredit Bank Austria.
Barclays Bank PLC, Deutsche Bank
and HSBC joined as MLAs, Export
Development Canada and Standard
Chartered Bank joined as Lead Arrangers
and Wells Fargo Bank N.A. London Branch
and Société Générale joined as Arrangers.
EY acted as Independent Financial Advisor
to Sasol in respect of the transaction.
21