The state says it has the money, but SMMEs say they can’t access it
The same funding criteria that have been in existence for years are still being applied, even in times of Covid-19; here’s how to change that
Funding has long been one of the biggest obstacles facing entrepreneurs. But the government narrative is that there is money — a lot of it — that has been set aside to support small businesses, particularly during Covid-19. Yet entrepreneurs and small business owners still claim that access to funding is the biggest hindrance to their growth and performance.
When SA went into the hard lockdown in March, the government pledged support for small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) that amounted to about R100m. In April, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that an additional amount of R2bn would be made available to assist “SMEs and spaza shop owners and other small businesses”...
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