The IDC is a national development finance institution set up to promote economic growth and industrial development. They offer loan amounts of a minimum of R1-million with a maximum of R1-billion per project allowed.
Lending criteria: Startup businesses, including funding for buildings, machinery and working capital for businesses operating in South Africa. Existing businesses can also apply for expansionary purposes. Over 50 percent ownership by persons under 35 years of age. Businesses must demonstrate economic merit and have prospects of acceptable profitability to be able to service their obligation. Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment certification from an accredited verification agency, where applicable.
Priority sectors: Green industries (renewable energy, energy efficiency, and waste management and recycling), agricultural value-chain, manufacturing activities (clothing, textiles, pharmaceuticals, plastics, and chemicals), strategic high-impact projects (logistics industrial infrastructure, mining value-chain, tourism, and high-level services, media and motion pictures, knowledge economy – ICT, and biotechnology).
Funds:
- The Green Fund aims to improve the South African SME’s energy efficiency and the country’s green economic development.
- The Green Energy Efficiency Fund (GEEF) supports entrepreneurs and businesses that want to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in energy-intensive sectors including manufacturing, mining, and agro-processing.
- The Agro-processing and Agriculture Strategic Business Unit (SBU) invests in the development of projects and businesses that either create new or expand local manufacturing capacity.
- The Technology Venture Capital Fund provides equity or debt funding to emerging technology-focused businesses to enable the conversion of technology-rich South African intellectual property into a market-ready product.
- The Automotive and Transport Equipment fund provides a minimum of R1 million (in the form of equity) to the manufacturer or the assembler of automotive and transport equipment to build global competitiveness.
- IDC’s Strategic Business Unit (SBU) for clothing and textiles offers support to a variety of businesses across the sector, ranging from creators of home decor to leather goods producers, to manufacturers of natural or synthetic fabrics.
- The Chemical Products and Pharmaceuticals Fund – provides finance to stimulate the growth of the manufacturing sector (for chemical, plastics and pharmaceutical products).
- The Machinery and Equipment Fund aims to improve the competitiveness of downstream manufacturing of machinery and capital equipment where it can be shown that the products have the potential to expand to new markets, as well as create new jobs. Funding is in the form of a minimum equity investment of R10-million.
- The Youth Pipeline Development Program – is an IDC Special Scheme business support and grant funding programme that assists potential applicants to improve the readiness of their proposal, and thereby increase their probability for IDC consideration.