Provincial Roadshow by National Empowerment Fund

 
National Empowerment Fund (NEF) Provincial Roadshow
 
Date: 14 March 2016
Time: 16:00 – 18:00
Venue: Galeshewe Recreation Hall
 
Come and find out all you need to know about:
• Business Planning and Mentorship
• Funding Requirements
• How to Save and Invest
 
We invite all businesses, whether owned by black or white people, to come and find out how they can benefit from and be part of a growing economy, through B-BBEE.
 
The National Empowerment Fund (NEF) savings and investment education campaign makes a stop at the Big Hole in Kimberley next week Monday before proceeding to Douglas, Prieska and Hopetown over the next three days.
 
Established in 2004,the NEF is an agency of the Department of Trade and Industry, with a mandate of advancing black economic participation by providing financial and non-financial support to black entrepreneurs, as well as promoting a culture of savings and investment. This is the focus of the investor education campaign.
 
“The bulk of the NEF’s work is focused on helping to establish and sustain black owned businesses, but the investment education seminars allow us to connect with individuals, whose savings and investment can be an important source of growth and job creation in the country” says Mziwabantu Dayimani, General Counsel who oversees investor education at the NEF.
 
More importantly for the Northern Cape, the investor education campaign takes place as the NEF prepares to open a fully-fledged office in the province following the appointment of a provincial manager, Bongumusa Biyela. This means the NEF now has a presence in all nine of South Africa’s provinces.
 
“Spreading our geographic footprint to cover the entire country is very important for growing our investment portfolio away from the economic hub and major urban centres.” says Dayimani.
 
The NEF already has an investment presence in the Northern Cape, which receives 2% of the NEF’s invested portfolio, roughly in line with the province’s 2% contribution to GDP. Opening the office will improve this.
 
One of the flagship investments is in Dessert Oil, a company that supplied fuel to Caltex outlets in the Northern Cape in which the NEF has so far invested R22,3 million.
 
The investor education series, delivered for free in local languages, is aimed at teaching individuals about the basics and importance of savings and investment. Focused on black communities, the NEF’s initiative also targets stokvels and other savings and investment clubs.
 
The seminars also teach small business owners, both aspiring and active, about the NEF’s own enterprise funding requirements as well as business planning, mentorship and support.
 
The NEF offers loan funding of between R250 000 and R75 million to viable black controlled and managed businesses. The NEF also offers non-financial support such as online business-planning, incubation, entrepreneurial training, and mentorship to qualifying enterprises.
 
Dayimani notes that savings and investment benefits both the individual and the economy, over the short and long terms. “For the individual, saving allows them to improve the quality of life and reach their financial goals while building towards a comfortable retirement. For the country, savings and investments create a pool of funds that can be used for productive investments and reduce dependency on foreign capital flows which can be volatile”.
 
The seminars teach about the basic instruments available for saving and investments including savings accounts, unit trusts, shares, bonds and property as well as the basics steps to follow before choosing one or more types of savings vehicles. They also warn of pitfalls to avoid when developing a savings plan, such as the importance of dealing with reputable institutions.
 
“The seminars also teach about the importance of small businesses to the economy” says Dayimani, noting that small businesses are a backbone and essential feature of many of the towns in which the seminars are held, which tend to be outside major urban centres. Small businesses are a critical sources of growth and employment.
 
The seminars also teach about the basic principles for succeeding in business as well as the NEFs funding products and criteria, how to prepare a business plan and the mentorship and support services that are available, from the NEF and other institutions, such as business incubators.
 
Now in its fifth year, the savings and investment education series has returned to all nine provinces several times over, reaching over 30 000 black South Africans in the villages and townships, leaving them with valuable knowledge to make something of their future.
 

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