Sishen Iron Ore Company Community Development Trust (SIOC-CDT)

The Sishen Iron Ore Company Community Development Trust (SIOC-CDT) was established in 2006 by Kumba Iron Ore to invest in the communities where Sishen Iron Ore Company (SIOC) operates. Based in Kathu in the Northern Cape, SIOC-CDT serves beneficiary communities in the Gamagara, Ga-Segonyana, Joe Morolong and Tsantsabane municipalities, and in Thabazimbi in Limpopo.

Registered name

Sishen Iron Ore Company Community Development Trust (SIOC-CDT)

Type

Community development trust (Kumba Iron Ore host communities)

Fields funded

Agriculture, health sciences, education, law, tourism, business, engineering, sciences and IT

Website

sioc-cdt.co.za

Actions, not words

SIOC-CDT says it has proved its motto of “defining ourselves through actions, not our words” by investing more than R1 billion in socio-economic and community development projects. SIOC-CDT channels a share of Sishen’s dividends into the development obligations mining companies carry under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act and the Mining Charter, according to a provider record checked in August 2026.

SIOC-CDT’s beneficiary communities lie in some of South Africa’s least developed regions, ranging from towns to rural settlements separated by vast distances. After consulting communities and stakeholders, SIOC-CDT chose three focus areas: education and skills development, enterprise development and social welfare.

Education from early childhood to adulthood

SIOC-CDT describes education as the cornerstone of community empowerment. Its goals include improving school readiness through early childhood development, helping children complete school, increasing digital skills among young people and adults, and increasing the supply of qualified teachers and school leaders through Teacher Professional Learning programmes. SIOC-CDT points out that fewer than 20% of South Africans have standard digital skills, according to International Telecommunication Union measures.

SIOC-CDT also runs a Youth Enterprises Accelerator Programme with the Mr Price Foundation and a Growth Fund for businesses, and is holding community roadshows, such as in Ga-Segonyana, to mark its 20 years.

The bursary fund

SIOC-CDT’s bursary has funded more than 550 students from beneficiary communities. The 2026 call covered registration and tuition, accommodation, study materials, a laptop, a monthly stipend and assistive devices for students with disabilities, for South Africans under 35 living in or originating from beneficiary communities, admitted to public institutions and in financial need. Priority went to applicants with disabilities, and preferred fields ranged from veterinary science, medicine and teaching to law, accounting, engineering and data science. No work-back applies.

How to research SIOC-CDT

Watch SIOC-CDT’s website and its Kathu and Thabazimbi offices for the 2027 call, and attend a community roadshow to ask questions. Forms have also been available at Department of Education circuit offices.

See the Kumba Iron Ore bursary for the mining company’s own scheme.