South Africa Pledges R2.1-billion to support startups

The South African Government has revealed it will budget R2.1-billion to support startups. This was disclosed today by Finance minister Malusi Gigaba at the 2018 Budget Speech.

According to the Gigaba,“Work is being done to provide crucial funding to innovative small businesses when they need it most.

“A fund with an allocation of R2.1-billion over the medium term is being developed between the Departments of Small Businesses and Science and Technology and benefits small and medium enterprises during the early startup phase.

“This is an area that has historically had limited support because of the risks involved,” he added.

This is the second time he has mentioned the startup fund, the first being last year in October during the 2017 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement.

However, there are questions regarding the administration of the fund and its operational date as there have been no clear explanations to it.