Parliament, Tuesday 13 March 2018 – The Portfolio Committee on Economic Development today received a briefing by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) on the impact of the industrial strategy on Small Medium Micro Enterprises (SMME) development. One of the mandates of the committee is to assess policies in place and direct those policies to where it is needed.
When considering the conditions that allow for entrepreneurs to thrive, South Africa ranks better than average in terms of government policy where it comes to the prioritisation given to entrepreneurs. The IDC needs to tell its narrative of empowerment to the citizens of South Africa particularly the assistance it has provided to emerging businesses which would not have been possible without funding from government, said Chairperson of the Committee, Ms Elsie Coleman. We need to understand the impact of government programs on SMME’s and local economic development through funding from agencies such as Sefa (Small Enterprise Finance Agency) which fund those businesses who ordinarily will not get approval and assistance from mainstream banks.
The Committee commended the IDC for disbursing R15 billion rands against its target of R23 billion between 2015 and 2018. The funds were used to support black industrialists covering a wide range of social enterprises for business development and business expansion across the country.
On job creation the IDC reported that 20 881 jobs were created in large enterprises and 3946 jobs through funding for small medium enterprises. The IDC and SEFA must continue monitoring the 30% set aside for SMMEs through government programs and projects.
Further the IDC indicated that Oakbay is complying with their payment in terms of their loan agreement. A payment of R37.5 million against the loan of R250 million is outstanding. The IDC is awaiting the court date.
ISSUED BY PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, MS ELSIE COLEMAN
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