New fund has R150m to help small enterprises

GOVERNMENT IS set to launch a new R150 million fund to help small enterprises with start-up capital. The start-up fund, a partnership between Khula Enterprise Finance Limited, which is an agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (dti), and business partners, is poised to grow the small business sector, according to BuaNews. Khula has contributed R120 million to the fund, while various business partners have committed R30 million. Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa said the fund would provide finance only to those companies that are 51% black-owned and 26% black-managed. There is also a bias towards companies owned by women, with another requirement being that at least a 33% stake of the company is owned by women. It will be rolled out in all provinces that are regarded as most underdeveloped. These exclude Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape. “A key focus will be to address the market failure in SMMEs and will provide finance for loans ranging from R10 000 to R250 000,” the minister noted.