The deadline for applications for the Western Cape Government’s (WCG) 2023 Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) Booster fund, is today (Tuesday 11 July) at midnight, said Mireille Wenger, Provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities.
Run by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism (Dedat), this programme has assisted 860 SMMEs since 2019, helping to sustain 4 977 jobs.
In addition to this, the Booster Fund has also helped these SMMEs grow, creating an additional 651 jobs, the minister said in a statement.
“One of my top priorities is to support entrepreneurs and SMMEs precisely because they are the driving force behind economic growth and job creation in the province and South Africa,” Wenger said.
This year, the SMME Booster Fund will focus specifically on support projects and programmes aimed at growing and developing SMMEs in the following categories:. Exporter development. Women-owned businesses. Youth-owned businesses. Township-based businesses
“The SMME Booster Fund is just one of the ways we support small businesses in the province. Over the last week I have had the great pleasure of speaking to the work we do to support and enable small businesses as well as remove barriers to their success at two fantastic events.”
The first was the SMME Summit, held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, which gathered more than 1 500 small business owners, government leaders and experts in business development and planning to exchange ideas and find ways to address current challenges facing the SMME sector.
The second was at an entrepreneur networking event in Khayelitsha hosted by The Silulo Foundation. The Foundation works to provide access to opportunities, information, and skills development to aspiring small business owners and community members, particularly in townships and rural areas.
According to Wenger the WCG is determined to make the province the easiest place to do business in the country. As part of achieving this, a new and ambitious economic plan of action, called “Growth for Jobs”, was recently adopted.
By 2035, it aims to have built a trillion-rand jobs-rich, inclusive, sustainable, diverse and resilient provincial economy, which is growing by 4-6% every year.
At the heart of this is the understanding that government’s role is to make it as easy as possible for the private sector, especially SMMEs, to grow and create jobs.
Therefore, entrepreneurs and business owners are urged to keep an eye out for the various programmes run to support SMMEs on the WCG’s “Sector Support” webpage. Business owners looking for assistance with cutting red tape can contact the provincial team on redtape@westerncape.gov.za.
“By improving the foundations of growth, by supporting SMMEs and removing barriers to their growth, the Western Cape can achieve higher growth rates and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs that we need to pull more people out of poverty and into a life of opportunity and hope.”
To apply for the WCG’s Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) Booster fund, following link this link online https://dedat-funding.westerncape.gov.za/#/
