R100 MILLION ISIQALO YOUTH FUND INJECTION TOWARDS

Eastern Cape Premier Lubabalo

Oscar Mabuyane has announced a R100 million injection towards the Provincial Government Isiqalo Youth Fund for over the period of three years, an initiative aimed at supporting young entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground.

Premier Mabuyane was delivering the State of the Province Address in Bhisho Legislature recently.

He said, “We are confident this investment in the young people of our province will give us better returns in terms of job creation. We are calling on young people to grab this opportunity with both hands and ensure that they invest in their businesses for sustainable growth.”

Isiqalo Youth Fund beneficiary, Asisipho Qokota, who recently received funding for her business AsieThandie Beauty Bar based in Venterstad; had this to say:

“I started operating my business at home and when I learnt about Isiqalo Youth Fund, I applied through the Office of The Premier. I was trained in Beauty Academy for three months. In addition, I was funded with a fully equipped beauty and spa container erected in the land availed to me by the municipality.”

She further thanked the Provincial Government for the opportunity. Meanwhile during his State of the

Province Address the Premier made a call on more young people “to grab this opportunity with both hands and ensure that they invest in their businesses for sustainable growth”.

Isiqalo Youth Fund is one of the provincial government’s youth focused programmes. It seeks to provide support to Eastern Cape based young entrepreneurs through the provision of financial and nonfinancial support, to enable them to actively participate in the stimulation of the socio-economy of the province. Registered businesses owned by young people who are Eastern Cape citizens are encouraged to apply through the Office of The Premier.

In his address, the Premier emphasised on government’s commitment to ensure that youthowned businesses benefit from government programmes including preferential procurement policy. He called on all state institutions to fasttrack the implementation of youth responsive planning and budgeting framework, “so that the province can improve from the current baseline of 8% to the 30% target stipulated in the national youth policy by the end of this term”. Over 3 900 Eastern Cape youth owned businesses have benefited from these provincial government programmes, to the value of R203 million as at December 2022.