National Empowerment Fund (NEF) - uMnotho Fund - New Venture Finance

The purpose of this Fund is to assist black business people to participate in the early stages of a medium-sized greenfield project. The Fund provides for loans of between R5m and R25m but the final amount of finance available will depend on the total cost of the project. The NEF is unlikely to fund more than 50% of the total project costs and they only consider projects with total funding requests of between R10m and R200m.

The finance is available as a loan or an equity investment and the duration is usually for a period of 5 to 10 years.

Eligibility criteria

• A minimum 25.1% BEE shareholding is required.
  
• There must be proven management experience within a consortium managing the project.
  
• There must be active BEE management involvement in the project.
  
• Security must include personal guarantees.

Application process

See the outline on how to apply for funding.

Please ensure that you download the Application Form as well as the personal statement of assets and liabilities form. The link can be found on the right-hand side of the How to Apply page.

The application form contains details of what they expect to see in your business plan. Once you have all the documents prepared, you can submit your application at the nearest NEF office.