ProfitShare Partners in partnership with Hot 91.9FM, and Getlion has launched an R100 million ($5.9m) investment fund for South African startups.
The new investment fund is designed to get small businesses working and creating jobs.
The interesting part is a prize of R1 million ($59192.48) for the small business that has created the most net jobs during the period of the campaign from 1 June 2020 to 31 May 2021.
The Get South Africa Working campaign is an initiative that was introduced by ProfitShare Partners founder and CEO, Andrew Maren to help small and medium-sized businesses create jobs and to keep them going, and this has become even more relevant now during these challenging times.
“This is an initiative to help boost our economy by accelerating SME business growth and development. With our high unemployment rate and the steep rise in job losses over the past few months, we want to encourage entrepreneurship and assist small business owners in need of capital to start or get going.
“Unfortunately, many of these businesses do not have the financials, security or track record and are turned away by the banks. How do you develop this track record or get a set of financials if you cannot access capital?
“Our model is to provide this capital to get them going so they can get a track record, cash in the bank and ultimately, financials so that they can graduate to getting capital from traditional funders such as banks,” says Maren.
SMEs and entrepreneurs have the power to change the status quo, especially in challenging times.
Starting today, 1 June 2020, the Get South Africa Working initiative will be providing up to R10 million in capital to SMEs per month to grow by partnering with them on their contracts or valid purchase orders that they have or are trying to get with large corporates and certain Government Departments.
To enter, SMEs and entrepreneurs must download the ‘getlion’ mobile app, available for iOS and Android devices, to track their business performance and apply for capital support via the ProfitShare Partners website. Full details are also available on the Get SA Working website.
“The Getlion app is a purpose-built platform of services, tools, and resources from various industry-leading companies, all in the interest of helping small businesses grow. Through the app, business owners will be able to access the tools to make running business easier, from accounting to online sales. As the virtual partner of the Get SA Working initiative, we’re excited to contribute to small business growth and job creation through our platform,” says Mathew Marsden, Co-founder of Getlion.
In the final month of this initiative, ProfitShare Partners will give a R1 million cash prize to the small business that has created the most net jobs in the period.
“The net jobs that we refer to here are permanent jobs created by the entrepreneur or small business, starting today until the end of May 2021. All information supplied will be audited and verified using our technology and reporting processes because ultimately, our aim is to assist our country in alleviating poverty by helping to create jobs and mobilise the development of SMEs,” adds Maren.
Powering this initiative as the official media partner of the Get SA Working initiative, multi award-winning, local community radio station, Hot 91.9FM, is the proud broadcasting partner and will be running all of the latest news and announcements for the campaign.
“Hot 91.9FM prides itself on uplifting our communities, and what better way to do that than to partner with such a powerful campaign to create much-needed jobs. We are deeply passionate about the development and survival of small businesses and that is why we are a proud partner in this ProfitShare Partners campaign”, says Lloyd Madurai, Managing Director of Hot 91.9FM.
To top it off, together with Hot 91.9FM, ProfitShare Partners will be giving away R10,000 in vouchers every month to help existing and would-be business owners and SMEs to start up or keep going. To enter, download the getlion mobile app, send what your business would do with R10,000 to the Hot 91.9 FM WhatsApp line 084 2212 919 and listen to Hot 91.9FM daily for more.
