Established by the National Empowerment Fund Act No 105 of 1998 (NEF Act), the National Empowerment Fund (the NEF) is a driver and thought-leader in promoting and facilitating black economic participation by providing financial and non-financial support to black-owned and managed businesses, and by promoting a culture of savings and investment among black people. The operations of the NEF are governed by the Public Finance Management Act No 1 of 1991 (PFMA), including the National Treasury Regulations, the King III Report on Governance for South Africa and the Protocol on Corporate Governance in the Public Sector, 2002. The process of industrialisation must be underpinned by transformation. Through measures like preferential procurement and the black industrialists programme, we are developing a new generation of black and women producers that are able to build enterprises of signifi cant scale and capability. We will improve our capacity to support black professionals, deal decisively with companies that resist transformation, use competition policy to open markets up to new black entrants, and invest in the development of businesses in townships and rural areas. Radical economic transformation requires that we fundamentally improve the position of black women and communities in the economy, ensuring that they are owners, managers, producers and financiers.