2025 BMF
Policy Conference & Achievement Awards
14th November 2025 | Boardwalk Hotel, Gqeberha
About Us
"Developing Managerial Leadership"
The Black Management Forum (BMF) is a non-racial, non-partisan and non-sexist organisation focusing on developing managerial leadership and creating managerial structures that reflect the demographics and values of the broader South African society.
About The Policy Conference
Our South Africa, Our Future
The Black Management Forum (BMF) will host its annual Policy Conference on Friday, 14 November 2025 at the Boardwalk Hotel, Gqeberha. Under the banner Our South Africa, Our Future — with the focus From inequality to equity: ownership, control & market access — the conference convenes business leaders, policymakers, academics, labour and civil society to move inclusion from promise to proof.
It is no coincidence that this flagship event is held in the Eastern Cape, among the country’s most impoverished provinces and home to struggle icons such as Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu and Steve Biko. While national in scope, the programme will examine the structural and historical dynamics that have kept the province on the margins of the economy and explore practical remedies to integrate its people and enterprises into growth pathways—so that no one is left behind.
Panel Discussions
This year’s panel discussions bring together thought leaders, policymakers and practitioners to tackle urgent transformation priorities across the Black Economic Agenda, enterprise supplier development (ESD) and the Oceans Economy, culminating in a high-stakes Big Debate. Anchored in Our South Africa, Our Future — with a focus on from inequality to equity: ownership, control & market access — each session examines the barriers facing black professionals and entrepreneurs and sets out clear, actionable pathways to unlock markets, broaden ownership and build a more just, equitable South African economy.
Will discuss the status of the black economic agenda in post-democratic South Africa and the triumphs as well as pitfalls of transformation.
Will reflect on the role of enterprise supplier development (ESD) in growing and sustaining micro, small, and medium sized enterprises and creating a more equitable economy where black business is given the market access they need to prosper.
This panel will position South Africa’s oceans economy as a national driver of job creation and industrialization, focusing on equitable opportunities and accountability by 2026, with the Eastern Cape as a key example.
National political representatives will debate the GNU's role in fostering inclusive growth and voter-driven accountability ahead of the 2026 elections.
The Agenda
Explore more in-depth insights on these critical topics and more by visiting our blog, The Agenda