Managing for Excellence

Viljoen holds an Honours Degree in Social Sciences and an MBA from the University of Stellenbosch. He has more than 18 years of business consulting experience in various industries – both in the corporate and SME sector. His experience includes:

Turnaround consulting: Restructuring of businesses in distress by developing and implementing applicable turnaround solutions - done under the auspices of the Social Plan initiative of the Department of Labour. Activities included the evaluation of status quo, assessment of continued financial viability, development of an applicable business plan (including relevant strategic and tactical interventions), negotiation with creditors and funders, (re-)design of financial instruments and/or sourcing of alternative funding sources, implementing the business plan (strategic and tactical), and building capacity to ensure sustainability.

Land reform and Black Economic Empowerment in the agricultural sector. Activities include development of business plan, facilitation of between 10 to 250 applicants, liaison with all role players (including relevant government departments like Land Affairs, Agriculture, Water Affairs & Forestry, municipalities, etc.), presentation to relevant authorities for final approval, assistance with land transfer and implementation of project, and assistance to beneficiaries to plan and set-up their business, as well as continued mentoring. Most recent projects completed: Uitvlugt land reform project (R19.5 million; 138 beneficiaries) / Mojano land reform project (R13.7 million; 124 beneficiaries) / Ganzekraal land reform project (R14.5 million; 70 beneficiaries).
Best Practices: Development and implementation of best practices on many farms in the Western and Northern Cape. Activities included sourcing of funds (e.g. from the Department of Trade and Industry), mobilisation of suitable resources and service providers, managing the role-out of the activities, completion according to pre-determined milestones, financial control and final closure of the complete project.
Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) Development: Developing the necessary infrastructure and capacity of small to medium sized businesses under the auspices of SEDA (Small Enterprise Development Agency) and provide business mentorship to BEE businesses until the required capacity has been created.
BEE & Workers’ Trusts: Develop suitable models for BEE and the “best practices” regarding workers’ trusts as an empowerment vehicle.
Funding & Project Management: Source applicable funding sources for various kinds of BEE projects, develop the required project plan, manage the roll-out of the project, and ensure projects are completed according to normal requirements of time, quality and budgets.