28 February 2006
The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Elizabeth Thabethe will deliver a
keynote address at the launch of the South African Micro-finance Apex Fund at
the Kgoledi Primary School Grounds at Makwane Village Bank in Phuthaditjhaba,
Qwa Qwa, Free State Province, on Friday, 3 March 2006, from 10:00. The media is
invited to attend.
The South African Micro-finance Apex Fund is an initiative of the Department
of Trade and Industry (the dti). It was launched nationally at the Motswedi
village in North West on 13 May 2005. The Free State province will be the sixth
to be launched. Other provinces already launched are North West, Limpopo,
Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga. The Apex Fund is another important
step taken by the national government to activate and energise micro-finance in
the country's remote, rural and poor urban areas, in line with millennium
development goals, celebrations of the United Nations (UN) Year of micro-credit
and the 50th celebrations of the Freedom Charter.
The Makwane village is a community-based and member-owned micro-financial
institution, established in October 2000 at Makwane village. It was established
by 50 members of Makwane village to provide access to financial services/loans
to the poor people to enable them to engage in income generating activities and
create jobs in the process.
The bank was also established to provide banking facilities to the poor who
would otherwise have difficulty opening bank accounts with the commercial banks
and would also not afford to travel long distances to get to big banks in major
cities. Currently the bank offers the following services to its members:
deposits/savings and withdrawals, loans and fixed deposits. They also provide
cheque deposit facilities as well as transfer facilities.
It operates from its own building at the Tebang Shopping Complex at Makwane.
It offers services to the people of Makwane local community as well as to the
neighbouring villages such as Lusaka, Blue-Gum, Bosch, Metsimatsho, Tebang,
Comet, Molapo, Qholaqhwe, Matshekgeng and others.
The members of these communities are involved in various economic activities
such as farming, arts and crafts, sewing (school uniforms etc), retailing
(spaza shops), catering and transportation (taxi business).
For further information contact
Bongani Lukhele
External Communications Marketing Division
Tel: (012) 394 1643
Fax: (012) 394 2643
Cell: 083 291 8689
E-mail: blukhele@thedti.gov.za
Donavan Jacobs
External Communications
Tel: (012) 394 1641
Fax: (012) 394 2641
Cell: 082 751 1078
E-mail: DJacobs@thedti.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Trade and Industry
28 February 2006
