The Small Enterprise Finance Agency (Sefa) has funded over 40 000 small and medium enterprises over the past year, said Sefa CEO Thakhani Makhuva.

Makhuva briefed Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development on Wednesday.

“Our mission is to provide simple access to finance in an efficient and sustainable manner to small and medium enterprises throughout South Africa by delivering wholesale and direct lending credit facilities or products, providing credit guarantees and supporting institutional strengthening of financial intermediaries so that the can effectively assist small enterprises,” Makhuvha said.

In his presentation, Makhuvha said Sefa, which is a new development finance institution that was established two years ago, has over the past year spent R822-million through various loan funding products to support small businesses.

This included:
·         Some 10 294 youth-owned enterprises being assisted with loan funding to the tune of R157-million;
·         A total of 44 302 women-owned enterprises being given funding of R362-million;
·         Funding of R429-million being given to 36 729 rural-based enterprises; and
·         About 43 643 black-owned enterprises being paid out R599-million in funding.

The National Development Plan envisages that small businesses will account for 95% of all jobs by the year 2030.

Makhuvha said Sefa was well-positioned to respond to the funding needs of small and medium enterprises.

Sefa offers loans of up to R5-million but divided into three streams. Firstly, the development bank does wholesale lending, where finance intermediaries offer applicants loans of between R500 to R5-million.

The second channel, called direct lending, allows applicants to Sefa’s direct offices and the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) offices to apply for funding of between R50 000 to R5-million, while the guarantee schemes channel offers applicants an opportunity to approach formal registered financial institutions that are in partnership with Sefa with funding of up to R5-million.

Makhuvha said Sefa had also partnered with key sector companies in launching various funds to support small businesses.

This incudes, he said, a partnership where Sefa has joined hands with mining giants Anglo American where each of them have contributed equally to a kitty of R200-million to assist small emerging businesses in the mining sector.

He said there was also a partnership with Transnet and Anglo American where small enterprises could apply for funding of up to R5-million to cover fuel costs in their field of business.

A separate fund, Makhuvha said, called the Land Reform Empowerment Fund, was available to the beneficiaries of the land reform programme who might, upon inheriting a big piece of land, wish to venture into agriculture or other sectors of the economy.

A tourism fund had also been set up during the recent Tourism Indaba to assist small tourist operators who wish to build guesthouses or buy vehicles for transporting tourists.