More than 50 aspirant entrepreneurs set to benefit as KZN rolls out bold Youth Funding Model
History will be made tomorrow when more than 50 aspirant youth entrepreneurs receive a R70 million funding injection from the KwaZulu-Natal government’s Youth Fund.
In January this year, the provincial government launched the Fund which is geared towards finding a long-lasting solution for youth entrepreneurs who do not qualify for bank loans due to a lack of a credit history and collateral.
To counter this challenge which saw young people with visionary entrepreneurial ideas being sidelined, the KZN government invited young people from all corners of the province to submit their business proposals. These were then subjected to thorough scrutiny and evaluation by a team of senior officials to find the most brilliant proposals.
Speaking ahead of the final announcement of the successful beneficiaries, Premier Sihle Zikalala who announced the youth funding initiative earlier this year said:
“This programme is proving to be a huge success. From the calibre of applications received, it is clear that young people are hungry to play a meaningful role in the economy. When we announced this programme early this year, we only had R50 million and we now have R70 million."
The ground-breaking initiative received a short in the arm with the coming on board of ABSA who set up a R70 million loan facility for young people.
Premier Zikalala added that the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) and his office had committed a further R70 million towards the capitalization of the fund during the 2018/2019 financial year.
The process of inviting new applications would start soon.
The announcement of beneficiaries will be led by Premier Zikalala and EDTEA MEC, Mrs Nomusa Dube-Ncube, and will take place as follows:
Date: 3 October 2019
Venue: Pietermaritzburg City Hall
Time: 8:30 am
Media enquiries:
Bongani Tembe
Cell: 082 3272 600
Nathi Olifant
Cell: 060 9705 113
