Small Business Development Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams says government is ramping up support for entrepreneurs through a R3.036 billion budget, including new funding for youth, women, and township businesses as part of plans to create jobs and grow small enterprises.
Delivering her department’s budget vote, Ndabeni-Abrahams said the department aimed to support one million micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and cooperatives during the seventh administration, adding that progress was already underway.
“We are on track,” she said, revealing that 288,123 MSMEs had already received support during the previous financial year.
She said small businesses remained central to economic growth and job creation.
“The evidence is clear: small enterprises are the largest employers in this economy. They are the entry point into economic participation for the majority of South Africans.
”They are where first-generation entrepreneurs build generational wealth. They are where transformation happens,” she said.
Ndabeni-Abrahams said the country faced continuing global economic pressures, including geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, and rising costs, which were placing pressure on smaller businesses.
“This reality reinforces a simple truth. We must build a resilient, locally anchored economy capable of withstanding external shocks,” she said.
The minister said government would continue efforts to reduce red tape and make it easier for businesses to operate.
“This year, the Department of Small Business will introduce a one-stop shop digital platform for business licensing,” she said.
She welcomed the increase in the compulsory VAT registration threshold from R1 million to R2.3 million.
“This is a major victory for small businesses across the country,” she said.
The minister said the department would continue strengthening township and rural economies through various funding programmes.
She said more than R829 million had been disbursed to over 111,000 MSMEs through the Township and Rural Entrepreneurship Programme during the previous financial year.
The programme’s funding threshold has now increased from R1 million to R3 million.
“This year we have allocated R710 million,” she said.
Ndabeni-Abrahams also announced several new funding initiatives, including a R300 million Imbali for Her programme supporting women-owned businesses, a R300 million Youth Entrepreneurship Fund to launch during Youth Month, and a R150 million Creative Sector Fund.
A redesigned R100 million Inyamazane Fund for Military Veterans is expected to launch in July, while the government also plans to establish a R300 million TIA-SEDFA Innovation Fund.
Through Khula Credit Guarantee, the government plans to provide supplier and credit guarantees worth R1 billion.
Ndabeni-Abrahams said the department was making progress with OneSEDFA, an integrated digital platform designed to combine funding, business development, and credit guarantee services.
She said the government had to shift towards greater local production and economic participation.
“We must move from being a nation that consumes to a nation that produces,” she said.
“South African MSMEs must not just participate in the economy. They must lead it.”
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