South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the country has launched a new $95 million fund to help grow small and medium-sized businesses as part of its CEO Initiative.

South Africa’s government, business leaders and labor leaders partner to solve some of the countries largest economic issues for the CEO Initiative. Now, its latest fund will serve as a big step in the right direction.

According to Focus Economics, South Africa has had slow economic growth since its recession last year, and now the country is taking steps to reverse its impact. Back in May, Ramaphosa helped pass economic reforms that would ultimately put South Africa back on the path to growth.

Last month, Ramaphosa signed the Competition Amendment Bill aimed at boosting small and medium sized business in addition to expanding innovation and investing in the economy.

The SA SME Fund will allocate capital to three types of funds — venture capital, growth, and social impact funds. These funds will invest directly into small and medium sized scalable businesses in South Africa. Half of the fund’s capital will be dedicated to Black African-owned businesses, a fourth will be given to Indian and POC-owned businesses, and the remaining 25 percent will be dispersed at the fund’s discretion.

Grindstone, 4Di, Growth Grid, PAPE Fund Managers, and SummerPlace are a few of the funds partnering with the SA SME Fund. More than 50 South African businesses have contributed 1.4 billion rand ($99 million USD) to the fund.

South Africa has been on the list of many African countries looking to bolster up its economy with the help of startups. Some startups like Flex Club have built out their platforms and created partnerships outside of the country. Others are turning to neighboring South African companies to partner.

social impacts fund

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