The IDC established a R1.5 billion relief package, titled the Post Unrest Business Recovery Fund (PUBRF), to assist small and informal businesses in townships, rural areas and small towns in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng Provinces that were in urgent financial need after being detrimentally affected by the unrest and looting which occurred in July 2021.
The recovery fund was meant to re-establish businesses and ideally help them to “build back better” – as per the IDC – while protecting the critical jobs and industrial capacity of South Africa. Hence, the purpose of the fund was to support the most vulnerable from business closure, job losses and income reductions, and to be able to build back after the unrest. Further to this, re-establishing supply chains and routes to markets while supporting entrepreneurship and strengthening business partnerships were pivotal to the success of this initiative.
Seriti Institute was contracted as the IDC’s Strategic Implementation Partner (SIP) to specifically support the small and informal businesses impacted by the July 2021 unrest in Gauteng. Our extensive experience in enterprise development has made a positive impact in many communities over the years and this IDC initiative has been an invaluable opportunity for Seriti to provide practical, hands-on support to propel Township Economy Development (TED) through the support of the IDC.
Overall Impact
The following dashboard illustrates the overall impact the project has made since its inception to date
Seriti facilitated the distribution of R10 million towards the support and recovery of small and informal businesses that qualify to receive assistance through the fund. As illustrated by the dashboard, we placed a strong focus on small, informal and under / uninsured businesses, by allocating 75% of the funding to this segment of the market.
A critical consideration for Seriti during the fund’s adjudication phase was to save as many jobs as possible, which resulted in a total of 645 jobs being protected.
Another critical aspect to our TED strategy was to ensure that businesses receive business support to accelerate economic growth. We were able to provide business development services to 118 businesses. Most of the businesses that benefitted from the fund are in the service delivery and retail sectors, e.g restaurants, radio stations, pharmacies and furniture stores. Businesses were able to replace their stock and movable assets as well as refurbish their business infrastructure.
Mamelodi Community Radio Station (Mams Radio) in Northeast Pretoria, Gauteng, is one of the many small enterprises that were severely affected by the unrests: “The lootings broke our hearts. We experienced huge loss, but the worst was human capital because we had to let go of more than 12 people while we were trying to recover and bring the station back to operation,” says Sam Mfaladi, Mamelodi Community Radio Station director. “We had already been having a hard time with the Covid-19 lockdown regulations, so the lootings just added salt to the wound. The station was badly ransacked, and we lost a lot of expensive equipment.” As a beneficiary of the programme, Mams Radio received a grant allocation of over R200 000, enabling the radio station to not only remain operational, but to also become more viable.
A Word from Moeketsi Sejane
small business owner and beneficiary of Seriti Institutes Post Unrest Business Recovery Fund (PUBRF)
“We had to close ranks for two weeks. This was definitely not easy on me, but I knew that my employees were also badly affected. During closure, we tried to raise funds so we can go back in business, but this was close to impossible however, I eventually started getting back to business. This was a difficult time because it meant that I had to work alone due to the fact that I could not afford to pay three employees. Towards the end of 2021, I heard of Seriti Institute’s business recovery programme. I initially thought I wouldn’t qualify for this grant but I still sent my application and I was happy when I received the news that I had qualified. This grant has afforded me the opportunity to renovate my business, fix some of the damage caused during the looting and importantly, pay my employees their salaries.”
Moeketsi Sejane
Owner of Woop Branding and Communication CC in Vosloorus.
