Financial services group, Sanlam, has joined forces with SANParks to launch their Kruger National Park-focused R10 million (€487 855) SMME funding and support programme, implemented by the I Am An Entrepreneur programme – an apex platform focused on supporting entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.
Over the last few years, inflation has caused the cost of debt to skyrocket, making financing inaccessible to many SMMEs. This has major implications in South Africa, where about 34% of total GDP comes from the small business sector.
The I Am An Entrepreneur pilot programme, launched six months ago, shows the ripple effect that the impact fund – based on a zero-interest loan – can have for entrepreneurs and their communities, notes Ray-Ann Sedres, Chief Transformation Officer at Sanlam.
She explains: “Many small-scale suppliers have excellent ideas. However, they don’t have the resources, experience, or reputation to compete with established incumbents.”
Sedres adds:…