Sugar Industry Trust Fund for Education: Strategy Review

Date of work: 2024

“I would rate Trialogue’s work 100 out of 10 if that was an option! I appreciated the expertise that Trialogue brought to the table, including the benchmarking of best practices and up to date strategies of other players. There were so many nuggets and lessons learnt during the process.”

Portia Mpofu: External Affairs Director, South African Sugar Association

The Sugar Industry Trust Fund for Education (SITFE), which is administered by the South African Sugar Association (SASA), was established in 1965 to promote quality education in the sugarcane-growing and milling areas of KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. SITFE’s flagship programme is its bursary scheme which provides funding for tertiary studies. The Trust Fund has also supported a range of other educational initiatives, including Early Childhood Development (ECD) programme in both provinces.

Recently, SITFE partnered with one of the six sugar milling companies to avail additional bursaries for students. Following the positive outcomes of this collaboration, SITFE engaged Trialogue to review its strategies and explore the viability of formally adopting a partnership model. The objective was to leverage SITFE’s expertise and relationships in the tertiary education sector to achieve greater impact with fewer resources.

Trialogue supported the strategy development process by benchmarking organisations in the tertiary education field, and identifying opportunities and challenges associated with the proposed partnership model. This research informed a facilitated strategy workshop, which resulted in a revised strategy and accompanying implementation recommendations. The Trust Fund adopted Trialogue’s recommendations and moved into the implementation phase in 2025.