Bigen Africa partnered with the City of Tshwane, the Development Bank of Southern Africa and the Doxa Deo church to donate much needed food parcels to indigent families in and around the City of Tshwane. On 27 January 2012, the Executive Mayor of Tshwane, Councillor Kgosiento Ramakgopa handed over more than 2 000 food parcels at the Saulville Arena in Atteridgeville. The ceremony was attended by needy families from areas such as Mabopane, Ga-Rankuwa, Soshanguve, Mamelodi and Hammanskraal.

“This initiative was started by the Executive Mayor of Tshwane, Councillor Kgosiento Ramakgopa, and his Mayoral Committee, challenging business to raise money for food parcels,” says Dr Snowy Khoza, Bigen Africa CEO. This initiative forms part of the executive mayor’s social responsibility pledge in partnership with the private sector.

“We passed the mayor’s challenge on to our employees, pledging to match their contributions rand for rand. The Development Bank, in turn, pledged to match the Bigen Africa contribution and Doxa Deo contributed additional food parcels donated by their members.”

Bigen Africa managed the charity drive through its Intuthuko Foundation, which was established as a platform from which to practise its principle of doing good while doing business.

“This principle is an important part of our business vision and values. With Africa emerging from decades of colonialism and apartheid, there are huge disparities between rich and poor. Doing good while doing business is a socio-economic imperative to build up poor and deserving communities and assist in empowering them towards being self-sustainable,” says Dr Khoza.