Government urges small businesses to apply for support through entrepreneurship programme

Minister of Small Business Development, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, has encouraged small businesses in townships and rural areas to apply for support through the Township and Rural Entrepreneurship Programme (Trep).

“We are deliberate in addressing unemployment and poverty but we also have a responsibility to grow the economy,” Ndabeni-Abrahams said.

Addressing the SheTradesZA Youth Seminar on Wednesday in Pretoria, the Minister said the maximum value of TREP stands at R1m, with one component being a grant and the other a loan.

“The Trep is a dedicated programme to transform and integrate opportunities in townships and rural areas into productive business ventures. The focus is to create platforms that provide business support infrastructure and a regulatory environment that enables entrepreneurs to thrive,” Ndabeni-Abrahams said.

Township or rural-based entrepreneurs can apply for support, including funding, through the common application template from the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda ), the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (Sefa), National Empowerment Fund (Nef) and the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA).

Owners of the business must be South African nationals.

The following schemes are available for qualifying entrepreneurs:

Small-Scale Bakeries and confectioneries support programme
Autobody repairers and mechanics support programme (as well as small and independent auto-spares shops and informal automotive entrepreneurs)
Butcheries support programme
Clothing, leather and textiles support programme
Personal care support programme
Spaza-shop support programme
Tshisanyama and cooked food support programme

Registration can be done here and complete the information required.