YOUNG entrepreneurs will again have an opportunity to access funding for their businesses as the second round of applications for the KZN Youth Fund opens today (Thursday).

This was announced by KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala during a virtual meeting with previous beneficiaries on Tuesday.

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Zikalala said the new application process will run for 30 days, with application forms available online and at the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) district offices.

The first round of the funding process began in 2019, with 13 youth-owned businesses in the King Cetshwayo, Zululand and uMkhanyakude districts among a total of 53 beneficiaries receiving R69-million in funding.

‘The disbursement to these youth enterprises began in January last year. Some disbursements were interrupted by the lockdown, but picked up after the easing of restrictions.

‘We have learned that some businesses managed to thrive during the Covid pandemic while others are still struggling to recover,’ Zikalala said.

This week’s engagement session was to gauge progress and identify additional support required to rescue these businesses and to strengthen those that are doing well.

The new funding cycle is also expected to provide a lifeline for many businesses struggling to stay afloat amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Zikalala, however, stressed that the resources being invested ‘belong to the people of KwaZulu-Natal’.
‘We must work together to ensure there is a return on investments on the scarce resources that the people of KwaZulu-Natal have entrusted us with.

‘Our belief is that small, medium and micro enterprises are catalysts for economic growth and job creation,’ he said.