FINCORP has also partnered with the Government to provide short-term loans to informal traders through the Informal Traders Revolving Fund (ITRF).
Mbabane-The Eswatini Development Finance Corporation (FINCORP) Group in collaboration with its shareholders-Eswatini Government and Tibiyo TakaNgwane and financiers, we have disbursed a cumulative E6.3 billion in loans to more than 80 000 beneficiaries from inception to date whilst just above 15 000 jobs are being supported by businesses financed by the company. To date, these businesses’ contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is estimated at E1.5 billion.
This assertion was made by the Managing Director of the organisation, Dumisani Msibi following Finance Minister Neal Rijkenbergs Budget speech. Msibi applauded Rijkenberg’s reassertion of job creation, especially for the youth, as part of the Government’s priority.
FINCORP`s Managing Director believes that creating and fulfilling income-generating job opportunities for young people can have direct positive consequences for job creation and poverty alleviation, which are important pillars of FINCORP’s founding mandate- ‘to empower Eswatini citizens through the provision of meaningful access to credit, job creation, and poverty alleviation.’
The Finance Minister also alluded to the Small-Scale Enterprise Loan Guarantee Scheme (SSLGS) held by FINCORP as endorsed by the Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE). “We remind Emaswati that, in January 2022, FINCORP began lending operations under the SSELGS. This means that qualifying SMEs who might not have any security can now access much larger loans worth up to E1 million from FINCORP via the CBE SSELGS and repay them over a longer period of five years.”
“FINCORP has also partnered with the Government to provide short-term loans to informal traders through the Informal Traders Revolving Fund (ITRF). As rightly highlighted by the Finance Minister, this initiative is addressing the challenge of access to affordable finance for entrepreneurs. The Fund also enables micro-businesses to access loans at a very low-interest rate. Currently, the Fund is capitalized at E4 million and already 200 micro-businesses in the Manzini region have benefitted and plans are underway to extend access to other regions countrywide.”
According to Msibi, FINCORP has also established a Business Development Support (BDS) unit to provide advisory services to clients through mentoring and coaching and to provide needs-based business training. The main objectives of the department are to support the entire credit function by helping new loan applicants to perfect their business loan proposals and also help existing businesses that have challenges to resolve them.
Discussion about this post