When people hear of B-BBEE, they normally lean towards this element from the onset, due to a lack of understanding of the B-BBEE scorecard and its elements.

Ownerships can get you up to 25 points on the scorecard, but that does not even make you compliant. Unless you are an EME, obviously. In such an instance you will become level 4 irrespective of your ownership.

In relation to the ownership element, there are three main areas that provide you with points:

• Voting Rights – who is eligible to vote as a shareholder
• Economic Interest – who earns the dividends
• Realization Points – a calculation to determine if value was created for the black shareholder