National Empowerment Fund (NEF) - uMnotho Fund - Liquidity and Warehousing

The aim of this Fund is to provide finance to BEE shareholders who need to sell a portion or all of their shares in an unlisted company. In this case, the NEF acquires the shares and then on-sells them to new BEE shareholders. The Fund can also refinance BEE shareholders where existing financing structures are costly and/or inefficient. 

The Fund targets existing black-owned businesses that are battling with inefficient BEE funding structures. The finance is in the form of a term loan or equity and the duration of the loan is from five to seven years. Own contribution is determined on a case-by-case basis and it is likely that personal guarantees are required. The NEF may include a mentorship programme as part of the loan package and participation in this will be mandatory.

Eligibility criteria

• This Fund focuses on medium to large profitable businesses. 
  
• A minimum BEE ownership of 25.1% post NEF investment is required.
  
• BEE applicants should be actively involved in management. 
  
• There must be active BEE involvement in investee companies.
  
• The business must be profitable.
  
• The business must be legally compliant.

Application process

The NEF website has an 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 left-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.