Establishment of district lender for entrepreneurs
The aim is to give a financial springboard to entrepreneurs unable to foot the capital investment bill of their businesses
A VIABLE lending scheme could soon be available for entrepreneurs in the King Cetshwayo District, who otherwise have no access to capital investment.
With the aim of eventually amalgamating all fledgling co-operative financial institutions (CFIs) in KZN into a stronger provincial co-operative bank, the soon-to-be-established King Cetshwayo Co-operative Financial Institution (KCCFI) on Monday met with the SA Reserve Bank (SARB).
The driving force behind the establishment of KCCFI is the King Cetshwayo Development Forum (KCDF), which was formed when it became apparent that those small agricultural businesses awarded contracts by the KZN Department of Education to supply perishable and non-perishable food items were forced to surrender their contracts owing to non-payment by the department.
Primarily focused on agricultural entrepreneurs owing to the rural landscape of the district, a deliberate resolve was taken to expand KCDF to incorporate other strategic sectors of interest, including agriculture, agro-processing, construction, water, food processing and light manufacturing.
KCDF aims to be the platform where the small business sector, as defined by the National Small Business Act of 1996, meet with their peers to exchange knowledge and expertise, build networks and as a collective interact with all spheres of government, civil society and the private sector to influence the economic improvement and direction of the region.
Long-term objectives of the forum include creating a CFI as defined in the Co-operative Banks Act of 2007.
Once established, the CFI would apply for fishing and mining licenses, gas operations activities, create a district incubator, a multi-purpose distribution centre and light processing concerns.
KCCFI is being registered by national Treasury and the necessary government entities, including the Prudential Authority of the SARB.
Once registred and funding granted by the SARB, KCCFI’s conceptualised projects, including beetroot processing, groundnut processing into peanut butter and tomato paste processing could get off the ground.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.
For news straight to your phone invite us:
WhatsApp – 072 069 4169
Instagram – zululand_observer
