SA entrepreneurs' two-year journey to secure funding amid Trump's tariffs

Two years is how long it could take to help an entrepreneur get finance-ready before they can unlock government funding, seeking to reindustrialise South Africa in the face of US President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs.

The government’s response to trade tariffs, which will affect an estimated 7% of all products exported to America, is to create an Export Support Desk to help companies diversify into new markets, a Block Exemption for Exporters to enable collaboration, and an Export and Competitiveness Support Programme to provide financial support.

Separately, the government, in partnership with the private sector, aims to establish a R100 billion aggregated fund to support what the National Empowerment Fund says is “the ever-growing funding requirements for businesses owned and managed by black entrepreneurs to propel inclusive growth across various sectors of South Africa’s economy”.

By Nicola Mawson
Full story at IOL