06/11/2019
THE CITY OF EKURHULENI LAUNCHES THE R120 MILLION EKURHULENI COMMUNITY ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT FUND
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On the 1 November 2019, the Ekurhuleni Council approved the implementation of the Ekurhuleni Community Enterprise Development Fund Policy in line with the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA). Section 67 of the MFMA, provides that; a grant is the allocation of funds from the Municipality's approved operating budget to organisations or bodies outside the sphere of government.
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The Ekurhuleni Community Enterprise Development (ECED) mandate is to support the development of community enterprises in the form of individual entrepreneurs, Small, Micro & Medium Enterprises, Cooperatives, Informal traders and formal businesses as prescribed. The ECED Fund is anchored by the Ekurhuleni Ten Point Economic Plan which is a deliberate programme to position Gauteng Eastern Development Corridor as the anchor and footprint of the provincial economy. The City has adopted a bottom-up approach which will deliberately focus on funding small businesses. Small and Medium sized Enterprise Sector is currently responsible for 60% of jobs in the country. The City has prioritised this sector as a job creation catalyst which must be leveraged immediately.
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The ECED Fund seeks to enable the syndication of Enterprise, Suppliers & Incubation Development interventions through non-financial & financial interventions such as business support, technical support, co-funding, export promotion, incubation, pitching competitions and business infrastructure support amongst others. The ECED Fund is characterised by the following funding groups:
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1. *Mbewu Fund*: Mbewu is the xiTsonga word for Seed. The Imbewu Fund will focus on Business Seed Funding for local entrepreneurs, businesses, and organisations through grants issued by the City (Funding Threshold: R50,000 to R1,5 million)
2. *Fetola Fund*: Fetola is the Southern Sotho word for Transformation. The Fetola Fund will focus on transformative projects, equity financing and the promotion of commercial participation and expansion. The fund will be syndicated by the National Empowerment Fund in collaboration with the City (Funding Threshold: R100,000 to R8 million)
1. *Phanda Fund*: Phanda is the isiZulu slang word for hustling. The Phanda Fund will focus on providing business support, enablement funding, seed funding, and advisory services. The fund will be syndicated through the National Youth Development Agency, Small Enterprise Development Agency, the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller, and the City (Funding Threshold: R100,000 to R3 million)
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“Developing a more inclusive and responsive job creation strategy is a top priority for the City. The city must create an entrepreneurial eco-system that promotes the development of high-impact startups, which will have an employment growth quantifier of two or more if we want to reverse our current unemployment crisis.”
�“The ECED Fund was created in line with the City’s pro-poor approach to governance. We want to provide access to funding for informal traders, cooperatives, micro-entrepreneurs, and young startup founders. Access to financing for young black entrepreneurs, and females in the main remains a serious challenge. If we are to correct the economic injustices of our past, we must unashamedly support small black businesses.” said Mayor Masina.
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THE ECED Fund is exclusively reserved for Ekurhuleni based entrepreneurs. The application window for the ECED Fund will open on the 11 November 2019 to the 31 January 2020. Application forms will be available from the City’s website and the Ekurhuleni Economic Development Department Offices in Kempton Park.
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For more information, please contact the Spokesperson to the Executive Mayor, Phakamile Mbengashe on 082 850 6084
*Issued by the Office of the Executive Mayor of the City of Ekurhuleni*
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