By Staff Reporter
Small Medium and Micro Enterprise in the Northern Cape Province can now breathe a sigh of relief after the Department of Economic Development and Tourism (Dedat) in the Northern Cape and the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) launched a multi-million-rand enterprise development programme.
As part of the initiative, Dedat and the NEF have jointly set aside R 75 million to establish the Northern Cape Blended SMME Fund which will provide concessionary funding to local entrepreneurs across all sectors of the Provincial Economy.
The Department of Economic Development and Tourism has contributed R30 million to the partnership which will be used for non-refundable grants of up to R4 million per transaction, with 60% comprising a refundable loan portion from the NEF’s contribution of R45 million to the Blended Fund. Businesses only have to pay back 60% of the loan.
To qualify for this funding, businesses must meet the following criteria:
– Majority ownership by black entrepreneurs.
– Black women participation.
– Job creation.
– An entity of any size or turnover, which is 51% or more Black-owned or Black-women with a BBBEE status of between 1 and 3
– Commercial sustainability.
“As businesses in South Africa and beyond continue to battle against the constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, this relief will come in handy for Black-owned and managed SMMEs in the Northern Cape, following the establishment of the Blended SMMEs Fund between the Dedat and the NEF”, says NEF CEO Philisiwe Mthethwa.
Northern Cape MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, MPL Hon Abraham Vosloo, said, “Access to business is one of the challenges faced by small business in the country, more than 70% of small businesses fail in their first two years due to among others, lack of access to finance and markets.”
“Innovative interventions aimed at addressing these challenges are required. One of these methods is blended finance which combines debt or loan funding with government-driven grant funding”, explains MEC Vosloo.
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