IRR shows how to remove BEE barrier to growth

In 2025 criticisms of BEE reached an unprecedented intensity. Many commentators here and abroad warned repeatedly that BEE helped only the black elite while harming the great majority.

The Economist magazine echoed this view and called for BEE to be “scrapped”. The Wall Street Journal recalled the waste so often resulting from BEE in state tenders.

The ANC and others jumped to BEE’s defence. As ever, they emphasised the good BEE is supposed to achieve, while ignoring the damage it does in practice. 

An alternative is vital. In ‘Breaking the BEE Barrier to Growth’, the latest paper in the IRR's ‘Blueprint for Growth’ series, IRR Head of Policy Research Dr Anthea Jeffery highlights the failures of BEE and presents Economic Empowerment for the Disadvantaged (EED) as a solution.

Join us on Tuesday 25^th November for the online launch of the paper. Here, Dr Jeffery and the IRR's Hermann Pretorius will discuss how EED would stimulate growth and help empower the poor in meaningful ways.

Details of the webinar: 

Date: Tuesday 25 November 2025

Time: 10 - 11:00

Speakers: 

Anthea Jeffery, IRR Head of Policy Research

Hermann Pretorius, IRR Head of Strategic Communications

Register here: https://streamyard.com/watch/2sB7aUK8fxjt

Media contact: Hermann Pretorius IRR Head of Strategic Communications Tel: 079 875 4290 Email: hermann@irr.org.za

Media enquiries:

Anneke Burns

IRR Public Relations

+27 71 423 0079

anneke@abpr.co.za