As part of its commitment to shore up SMEs, especially those who do not have sufficient security to qualify for finance, Absa Small Business has increased its Khula lending limit for start-up businesses from R100 000 to R350 000.
"This is a confirmation of our unwavering pledge to meaningfully promote start-up small businesses. We are undoubtedly committed to government's agenda of developing SMEs to counter the challenge of unemployment," says Faisal Mkhize, Managing Executive - Absa Small Business.
In addition, Absa Small Business has appointed Khula specialists - who will be based in the respective Absa regional offices - to assist with the application process, management of existing Khula relationship as well as reviewing of existing.
Khula specialists will maintain a close relationship with the Khula regional offices and assist growing Khula business in the geographical areas identified by Khula for growth opportunities such as Northern Cape, North West Province, Free State, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
Absa has been investing efforts on operational and risk efficiencies within the Khula sphere, during 2008. With these efficiencies now embedded, there is a renewed focus on growing Khula business in Absa from 2009 onwards.
"Starting a small business involves more than financing, as it also encompasses proper processing and strict follow ups on applications; shortening the turnaround and speeding up the entire process," stated Mkhize.
He concluded that their Khula specialists will help them to manage the application process by doing pre-assessments on all applications. "They will also provide advice and related assistance to applicants."
The Khula Credit Guarantee Scheme was established eleven years ago to facilitate access to finance for people wishing to start/buy a small to medium-sized business, but do not have sufficient security or collateral to provide to the bank in order to secure a business loan. In such
cases, where a client meets the relevant requirements, the bank will apply to Khula for a guarantee which then acts as collateral for a specific percentage of the total loan amount. Absa has supported this scheme over all these years.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
New partnership to grow SMMEs
Existing and aspiring entrepreneurs received a positive boost following today's announcement of the partnership between Seda, the Masisizane Fund and Old Mutual Foundation, which aims to provide small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) with non-financial and critical financial support.
The partnership is a timely intervention that will alleviate the plight of enterprising unemployed people who want to start businesses. According to a 2008 Department of Trade and Industry survey, at least 65% of jobs created in the South African economy can be attributed to the SMME sector.
The partnership specifically focuses on stimulating job creation and ensuring sustainability within the small, medium and micro enterprise sector by promoting, supporting and developing SMMEs as well as connecting these enterprises to critical financial support.
Each partner contributes a different element of expert support to the initiative. Non-financial support services will be provided by Seda, which offers entrepreneurs access to information, advice, mentoring, guidance and tailored training programmes through its national network of 42 branches.
In addition, aspiring and existing business owners can consult directly on business concepts with the business advisors at any one of Seda’s branches.
“We’re very excited about this new partnership which will greatly assist in supporting SMMEs to ensure future sustainability and growth. The financial assistance provided by the Old Mutual Foundation and Masisizane Fund perfectly complements the comprehensive range of support services offered by Seda.
"This partnership reflects our mission to develop and promote small enterprises in co-ordination with other role players, and furthers our vision of offering a holistic support package to SMMEs to enhance their competitiveness,” says Seda’s Chief Executive Officer, Hlonela Lupuwana.
Financial aid will be offered in the form of grant funding and soft loans, provided by the Masisizane Fund and Old Mutual Foundation respectively.
“This partnership means that aspiring entrepreneurs, preferably women and youth, can approach a local Seda branch and be assisted with business plan writing and ongoing mentorship using criteria provided by Masisizane and the Old Mutual Foundation. This will improve their chances of getting access to the funds they need to turn their dreams into reality,” says Charmaine Groves, CEO of the Masisizane Fund.
Groves explains that Masisizane’s overarching objective is job creation through sustainable enterprise development in the second economy, and Seda’s is to provide the tools and know-how for SMMEs, both start-ups and existing businesses.
“Entrepreneurs should enjoy increased success when applying to institutions like Masisizane for funding and other business support.The process of evaluating applications will be shortened, and the long term sustainability of the enterprises improved through the valuable mentorship provided by Seda,” says Groves.
Lupuwana adds that the partnership will go a long way to addressing one of the major current challenges facing SMMEs, namely access to funding.
“Access to services, especially finance, has been a key challenge to aspiring and thriving small businesses. It is beneficial for Seda to form this joint initiative in helping to alleviate this shortcoming in the sector,” Lupuwana concludes.
The partnership is a timely intervention that will alleviate the plight of enterprising unemployed people who want to start businesses. According to a 2008 Department of Trade and Industry survey, at least 65% of jobs created in the South African economy can be attributed to the SMME sector.
The partnership specifically focuses on stimulating job creation and ensuring sustainability within the small, medium and micro enterprise sector by promoting, supporting and developing SMMEs as well as connecting these enterprises to critical financial support.
Each partner contributes a different element of expert support to the initiative. Non-financial support services will be provided by Seda, which offers entrepreneurs access to information, advice, mentoring, guidance and tailored training programmes through its national network of 42 branches.
In addition, aspiring and existing business owners can consult directly on business concepts with the business advisors at any one of Seda’s branches.
“We’re very excited about this new partnership which will greatly assist in supporting SMMEs to ensure future sustainability and growth. The financial assistance provided by the Old Mutual Foundation and Masisizane Fund perfectly complements the comprehensive range of support services offered by Seda.
"This partnership reflects our mission to develop and promote small enterprises in co-ordination with other role players, and furthers our vision of offering a holistic support package to SMMEs to enhance their competitiveness,” says Seda’s Chief Executive Officer, Hlonela Lupuwana.
Financial aid will be offered in the form of grant funding and soft loans, provided by the Masisizane Fund and Old Mutual Foundation respectively.
“This partnership means that aspiring entrepreneurs, preferably women and youth, can approach a local Seda branch and be assisted with business plan writing and ongoing mentorship using criteria provided by Masisizane and the Old Mutual Foundation. This will improve their chances of getting access to the funds they need to turn their dreams into reality,” says Charmaine Groves, CEO of the Masisizane Fund.
Groves explains that Masisizane’s overarching objective is job creation through sustainable enterprise development in the second economy, and Seda’s is to provide the tools and know-how for SMMEs, both start-ups and existing businesses.
“Entrepreneurs should enjoy increased success when applying to institutions like Masisizane for funding and other business support.The process of evaluating applications will be shortened, and the long term sustainability of the enterprises improved through the valuable mentorship provided by Seda,” says Groves.
Lupuwana adds that the partnership will go a long way to addressing one of the major current challenges facing SMMEs, namely access to funding.
“Access to services, especially finance, has been a key challenge to aspiring and thriving small businesses. It is beneficial for Seda to form this joint initiative in helping to alleviate this shortcoming in the sector,” Lupuwana concludes.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Rival Pioneers
Welcome to Rival Pioneers - a South African focused initiative aimed at the development of entrepreneurial talent and helping
the right ideas become long-term sustainable businesses.
The South African government has long held the belief that small to medium sized enterprise would be the only way to tackle rising unemployment in the country - they just forgot a critical aspect - holding the hand of the budding entrepreneur.
Rival Pioneers aims to try and address this issue by providing development resources for entrepreneurs including
- Venture and micro finance
- Mentoring and partnerships including communication, sales, strategy
- Sustainability development
- Strategy development and execution
- SME incubation
- Interactive workshops and forums to develop entrepreneurial talent
Why join the Pioneers network?
Running - or even contemplating running your small business - is scary at the best of times. You're under-resourced and normally stretched in a dozen different directions.
By joining an initiative such as Pioneers, you get to put your small business idea out there and interact with other aspirant entrepreneurs... heck if your idea is solid enough you might even find some funders willing to back you and a kick-ass team to give you the best chance of getting your idea off the ground.
Perhaps the idea of starting a business is a step too far but you want to be able to interact with people who have been there and done that - then here is the place to do it.
About Rival
The Pioneers initiative has been established to operate alongside the Rival Industrial company which was established in 2005. The company has experience in a number of fields including food, pharmaceutical, education, E-learning, and corporate wellness.
Titles published by the business include:
ManufacturingHub.co.za - www.manufacturinghb.co.za - News for the SA Food, Pharmaceutical, Chemical Manufacturing industries
RemSpecED - www.remspeced.co.za - Remedial & Special Education in South Africa
Bunbublog.com - Free blogging platform for South African bloggers
Ferronews.com - Ferrous metals industry news
What are you waiting for?
Join the Facebook group now and follow our Twitter feed at - http://twitter.com/rivalpioneers - and we will update you as the project develops
If you want to get involved on a more hands-on level or you have a business plan to submit for consideration you can send it to me at marc@rival.co.za
Look forward to hearing
the right ideas become long-term sustainable businesses.
The South African government has long held the belief that small to medium sized enterprise would be the only way to tackle rising unemployment in the country - they just forgot a critical aspect - holding the hand of the budding entrepreneur.
Rival Pioneers aims to try and address this issue by providing development resources for entrepreneurs including
- Venture and micro finance
- Mentoring and partnerships including communication, sales, strategy
- Sustainability development
- Strategy development and execution
- SME incubation
- Interactive workshops and forums to develop entrepreneurial talent
Why join the Pioneers network?
Running - or even contemplating running your small business - is scary at the best of times. You're under-resourced and normally stretched in a dozen different directions.
By joining an initiative such as Pioneers, you get to put your small business idea out there and interact with other aspirant entrepreneurs... heck if your idea is solid enough you might even find some funders willing to back you and a kick-ass team to give you the best chance of getting your idea off the ground.
Perhaps the idea of starting a business is a step too far but you want to be able to interact with people who have been there and done that - then here is the place to do it.
About Rival
The Pioneers initiative has been established to operate alongside the Rival Industrial company which was established in 2005. The company has experience in a number of fields including food, pharmaceutical, education, E-learning, and corporate wellness.
Titles published by the business include:
ManufacturingHub.co.za - www.manufacturinghb.co.za - News for the SA Food, Pharmaceutical, Chemical Manufacturing industries
RemSpecED - www.remspeced.co.za - Remedial & Special Education in South Africa
Bunbublog.com - Free blogging platform for South African bloggers
Ferronews.com - Ferrous metals industry news
What are you waiting for?
Join the Facebook group now and follow our Twitter feed at - http://twitter.com/rivalpioneers - and we will update you as the project develops
If you want to get involved on a more hands-on level or you have a business plan to submit for consideration you can send it to me at marc@rival.co.za
Look forward to hearing
Monday, August 10, 2009
Online Chess Business ChessCube Receives VC Funding
ChessCube has concluded a US$1.25m funding agreement with Venture Capital fund, InVenFin (Pty) Ltd. InVenFin, the VC-focused subsidiary of VenFin Limited, invests in intellectual property-based start-ups with global potential. This transaction brings ChessCube’s total funding to date to US$1.8m.
ChessCube is an online chess site, which allows players of all skill levels to compete and learn chess, while socializing with others. With a potential market of over fifty million active chess players in the world, ChessCube.com has already attracted over 650,000 registered users across 207 countries – making it one of the leaders in the growing online chess market.
Mark Levitt, CEO and founder of ChessCube says, “We are delighted to have InVenFin on board as our partner. Over and above the valuable capital injection, InVenFin gives us access to an international business network, and their team of experts in branding, product strategy, intellectual property management and corporate structuring. This investment allows ChessCube to focus on establishing itself as the world leader in online chess.”
InVenFin’s Stuart Gast says, “ChessCube’s innovative product offering has impressed us, along with the strong team led by Mark. The social gaming space is growing rapidly worldwide, and we believe ChessCube represents an excellent entrance for us into this world. We look forward to assisting ChessCube achieve its aspirations.”
Vinny Lingham, CEO of San Francisco-based Yola.com, was an early investor in ChessCube. “As a keen chess player myself, it is particularly exciting to be part of an innovative chess venture,” said Lingham. “This investment by InVenFin further highlights the potential of Cape Town as the technology hub of Africa – which I like to dub Silicon Cape. ChessCube has enormous potential to dominate the massive global chess players’ market.”
The partnership between ChessCube.com and InVenfin will allow ChessCube.com to become the most recognized and loved online brand for chess enthusiasts.
ChessCube enables all levels of chess players to play live chess against other like-minded players, in various forms of the game. The focus at ChessCube.com is enjoying the game of chess in a positive and fun environment.
ChessCube.com also offers interactive chess videos written by international grandmasters. Unlike DVDs, these videos interact with each user, offering them personalised instruction – an outstanding innovation that earned ChessCube a Semi-final placing in the 2008 Adobe Max Awards in San Francisco.
World history was recently made by ChessCube when, during its recent sponsorship of the 2009 South African Open, along with the 400 participants at a Cape Town venue, for the first time in history three grandmasters and masters participated from a second venue in Melbourne, Australia. FIDE, the world chess federation, worked with ChessCube to ensure that the games, which were played across the Internet, were officially rated, setting a new precedent that could see tournaments using this technology in the future.
ChessCube continues to innovate and build on its award-winning chess playing platform from its Cape Town headquarters.
Useful links
ChessCube website: www.chesscube.com
ChessCube blog: www.blog.chesscube.com
ChessCube is an online chess site, which allows players of all skill levels to compete and learn chess, while socializing with others. With a potential market of over fifty million active chess players in the world, ChessCube.com has already attracted over 650,000 registered users across 207 countries – making it one of the leaders in the growing online chess market.
Mark Levitt, CEO and founder of ChessCube says, “We are delighted to have InVenFin on board as our partner. Over and above the valuable capital injection, InVenFin gives us access to an international business network, and their team of experts in branding, product strategy, intellectual property management and corporate structuring. This investment allows ChessCube to focus on establishing itself as the world leader in online chess.”
InVenFin’s Stuart Gast says, “ChessCube’s innovative product offering has impressed us, along with the strong team led by Mark. The social gaming space is growing rapidly worldwide, and we believe ChessCube represents an excellent entrance for us into this world. We look forward to assisting ChessCube achieve its aspirations.”
Vinny Lingham, CEO of San Francisco-based Yola.com, was an early investor in ChessCube. “As a keen chess player myself, it is particularly exciting to be part of an innovative chess venture,” said Lingham. “This investment by InVenFin further highlights the potential of Cape Town as the technology hub of Africa – which I like to dub Silicon Cape. ChessCube has enormous potential to dominate the massive global chess players’ market.”
The partnership between ChessCube.com and InVenfin will allow ChessCube.com to become the most recognized and loved online brand for chess enthusiasts.
ChessCube enables all levels of chess players to play live chess against other like-minded players, in various forms of the game. The focus at ChessCube.com is enjoying the game of chess in a positive and fun environment.
ChessCube.com also offers interactive chess videos written by international grandmasters. Unlike DVDs, these videos interact with each user, offering them personalised instruction – an outstanding innovation that earned ChessCube a Semi-final placing in the 2008 Adobe Max Awards in San Francisco.
World history was recently made by ChessCube when, during its recent sponsorship of the 2009 South African Open, along with the 400 participants at a Cape Town venue, for the first time in history three grandmasters and masters participated from a second venue in Melbourne, Australia. FIDE, the world chess federation, worked with ChessCube to ensure that the games, which were played across the Internet, were officially rated, setting a new precedent that could see tournaments using this technology in the future.
ChessCube continues to innovate and build on its award-winning chess playing platform from its Cape Town headquarters.
Useful links
ChessCube website: www.chesscube.com
ChessCube blog: www.blog.chesscube.com
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