DURBAN - The second phase of applications for the KwaZulu-Natal Youth Fund will begin on July 1 and run for 30y days, according to the provincial government.
Applications for the fund will be advertised in local newspapers and on KZN government social media pages, Premier Sihle Zikalala said during a virtual sitting on Tuesday.
The fund is aimed at supporting young entrepreneurs and is aligned to the province’s Youth Economic Empowerment Strategy.
“This is a provincial flagship programme led by the Office of the Premier. The KZN Youth Fund serves as a catalyst for funding business ventures created and owned by young people across the length and breadth of this province,” Zikalala said.
The first tranche of the Youth Fund was rolled out in 2019 to 53 youth enterprises that received around R69 million. Just over 400 jobs were created as a result.
The money was disbursed in January last year, the premier said, urging entrepreneurs to develop the ability to “turn problems into solutions and make profit out of them”.
“It is in the nature of successful entrepreneurs to always translate odds and misfortunes into fortunes and opportunities,” Zikalala said.
Last week the KZN government forked out just under R300m in funding to small, medium and micro enterprises across six industries in an effort to bolster the province’s economic recovery plan.
Out of 4 229 applications for funding from Operation Vula, 1 021 were approved to receive a share of the funding.
Around 42% of the recipients were under the age of 35, Zikalala said.
ANA