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A year after iKwezi was set up, the fund has expanded its reach.
“We can safely say that one-third of the facility has now been loaned out and there’s also a significant pipeline of applications,” said Dr. Salifou Siddo, Chief Executive of the Tourism Enterprise Partnership, adding that the iKwezi Tourism Facility (ITF) was open for business and had gone through its growing pains.
The ITF provides business loans to small businesses in the tourism industry, ranging from a minimum of R10 000 to a maximum of R5 million.
Siddo said the fund had now been set up with the right people running it. “Unfortunately the manager that we brought in to run it passed away. We had to regroup and go back to the drawing board to find ourselves a new team,” said Siddo. A new team was brought in in October last year and “they’ve done a really good job in creating visibility for the fund,” added Siddo.
He said applicants of the fund had been happy with their outcomes. “There are testimonials from people who’ve approached us and been successful.”
“I think [iKwezi] helped us a lot because we would go to banks and we wouldn’t find any assistance,” said Solani Mthethwa, from Mopani Lodge.
“iKwezi really boosted our capacity with three new cars, at a time when we had landed a new contract,” said Namhla Mayeki, from Tsheola Dinare Tours & Transport Services.
Siddo added that one of the challenges facing iKwezi was during the application process. “SMMEs need to have their financial information in order.” He added that a missing document could delay the issuing of a loan. “We can’t make a loan decision on the basis of incomplete financial information.”
Click here for more information about iKwezi.
Source: tourismupdate.co.za