- The National Treasury has announced that the Jobs Fund has launched its latest funding round.
- It is specifically targeting businesses and entrepreneurs in the green and informal economies.
- The minimum grant amount for scalable projects with sustainable job creation is R5 million.
If you are unfamiliar with The Jobs Fund, it is an initiative by the National Treasury that has been running since 2011. In that time, an estimated R7.4 billion has been disbursed to partners, and now, applications for the latest round of funding have been announced.
Other standout figures include the creation of 210 719 permanent jobs, 114 534 short-term jobs/internships, and more than 63 000 SMEs and 16 000 emerging farmers being supported, according to government.
The latest round of funding, which is also the 12th under The Jobs Fund, is focused on green and informal economies in particular, the National Treasury has outlined.
It is specifically aimed at, “supporting innovative solutions that address critical employment barriers in South Africa’s green and informal economies,” government shared in a press release.
“The Fund seeks to support creative, scalable interventions that will contribute to sustainable job creation and stimulate inclusive economic growth in high labour absorptive sectors,” it added.
Drilling a little deeper into the types of businesses and entrepreneurs the Fund is looking to assist, within the green economy, renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture, agritech, transport, green mobility, and waste/water management have been highlighted.
As for the informal economy, street vending, small retailers, small manufacturing, and infrastructure care and repair work have been mentioned.
Other elements worth pointing out for the 12th round include the fact that minimum grants of R5 million will be awarded. As these are quite sizeable investments, the National Treasury has emphasised that “proposals must demonstrate long-term financial and operational sustainability”.
“Successful proposals must provide scalable, implementable solutions with measurable impact on job creation,” it continued.
As mentioned, applications are now open, and close on 5th June at 15:00 SAST. The full term sheet and applications for this latest round can be found here. Those wanting additional information are advised to email jobsfund@treasury.gov.za.
You can also read more on the funding in the PDF embedded below.
