Black Economic Empowerment

South African law

Also known as: BEE

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Last updated

July 19, 2026

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Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) is a South African law and strategy aimed at integrating the country's previously disenfranchised majority into the economy. Introduced after the end of apartheid, BEE focuses on increasing employment opportunities, improving work skills, and enhancing income potential for individuals classified as Black, Coloured, or Indian under apartheid. The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Act of 2003 further expanded this concept to address gender and social inequalities alongside racial ones. This initiative is part of broader post-apartheid economic policies designed to foster growth and redistribute opportunities.12

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Patrice Tlhopane Motsepe
…to benefit from the country’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) laws, which required companies to have a minimum 26 percent black ownership before a mining license would be granted. In 1994 Motsepe founded a mine services company, Future Mining, and applied all of his life experience—knowledge of the mining trade and…
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…to benefit from the country’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) laws, which required companies to have a minimum 26 percent black ownership before a mining license would be granted. In 1994 Motsepe founded a mine services company, Future Mining, and applied all of his life experience—knowledge of the mining trade and…
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De Beers S.A.
…in compliance with South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) mining charter. In 2007 De Beers began operations in Canada at Snap Lake Mine in the Northwest Territories—the company’s first mine outside Africa. The company opened the Victor Mine in Ontario, Can., in 2008.
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…in compliance with South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) mining charter. In 2007 De Beers began operations in Canada at Snap Lake Mine in the Northwest Territories—the company’s first mine outside Africa. The company opened the Victor Mine in Ontario, Can., in 2008.
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