Cape Town - The province has launched a R27 million relief fund to help small businesses hard-hit by Covid-19, says Finance and Economic Opportunities MEC David Maynier.
The fund will provide financial assistance in the form of a grant to businesses which can apply to either the formal or informal business category.
The grant will be used exclusively to subsidise business expenses such as fixed costs, operational costs, supplier debt, and other pressure-cost items.
Maynier said the Western Cape Covid-19 Business Relief Fund was one of the measures being taken to support small businesses during the pandemic.
“We know that times have been tough for businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic and that is why, from the start, we have been working hard to support businesses, especially small businesses, to open safely and responsibly so we can save jobs and save the economy.
“With the move to level 1, which allows more businesses to safely open, this fund is an important step in our economic recovery plan, and so I would like to encourage all interested small businesses to apply. We look forward to receiving submissions.
“On Monday, we also announced the launch of our Covid-19 workplace safety campaign which aims to remind businesses about the importance of implementing health and safety guidelines in the workplace, and encourages them to make use of the many tools and resources we have on our website to help them implement these safety measures in the workplace.”
Meanwhile, a new fin-tech funding platform, SMEgo, has been launched to connect SMMEs with funding providers and funding opportunities across the country.
Spokesperson Rowan Spazzoli said: “By increasing accessibility to finance and simplifying the application process we bridge the gap between funding and SMMEs. SMMEs don’t have the cash reserves to deal with the setbacks created by the pandemic, but finding them financial support shouldn’t be so hard.”
Cape Argus