Over R760 million allocated to empower township and rural startups in South Africa
Minister of Small Business Development Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams says her department has put measures in place to support township, spaza shop and small businesses
Image: GCIS
Minister of Small Business Development Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams says her department has put measures in place to support township, spaza shop and small businesses with digital skills and innovation funding, amid criticism that state support remains concentrated in Gauteng and the Western Cape.
Ndabeni-Abrahams said this in a parliamentary reply to questions posed by Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) MP Bhekizizwe Luthuli, who asked whether the department was doing enough to ensure digital transformation initiatives and innovation funding reach informal businesses and historically underserved provinces.
Ndabeni-Abrahams said the department, through its agency the Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency (SEDFA), has rolled out digital skills training for township entrepreneurs, support for spaza shops to adopt digital payment and stock management systems, and broader digital transformation programmes for small and medium-sized enterprises.
She also said funding through the Small Business Innovation Fund was increasingly being directed to rural and township-based startups, including in provinces such as Limpopo and Mpumalanga, as part of efforts to address historic funding imbalances.
"SEDFA offers a range of digital transformation support, including digital readiness assessments and training. SEDFA’s Digital Transformation Programme is designed to help MSMEs streamline their processes, improve market reach, and enhance competitiveness in a rapidly evolving business environment," Ndabeni-Abrahams said
"SEDFA provides these services primarily via the Digital Hubs across the country, focusing on a range of support, including in e-commerce, gaming, blockchain, coding, robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, 3D printing, and data management".
She added that "SEDFA has a Small Business Innovation Fund (SBIF) programme which is an initiative designed to support and empower innovation-driven small businesses, particularly in historically underserved regions of South Africa"
"Of the R763 075 428 disbursed since 2015, R256 555 915 has gone to township-based startups and R238 392 745 has gone to rural-based startups. There is now a deliberate effort to fund startups in poorer, more rural provinces. Key here is pre-investment support to build a funding pipeline, through for example support for incubators.
"By way of example, Limpopo and Mpumalanga have now received a higher share of SBIF funding since 2015 - R90 093 089 for Limpopo, and R95 235 189 for Mpumalanga – compared to the Western Cape which has received R82 850 349. Through these efforts, the programme fosters inclusive growth, promotes innovation, and helps bridge the digital divide for entrepreneurs and MSMEs across the country".
mthobisi.nozulela@iol.co.za
IOL Business