THE Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) has as of today (Saturday) officially closed the first window of the SMME Debt Relief Financing Scheme.
The scheme, which opened for applications in April, has received a total of 35 865 applications of which 14 451 were fully completed.
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The 21 414 which were incomplete have been referred to Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) for assistance with applications.
Of the more than 14 000 completed submissions, Small Enterprise Finance Agency SOC Ltd (SEFA) has approved 1 497 applications worth R513-million.
Initially, the department had allocated an amount of R20-million which was later increased to R500-million, when the funding approach was changed to the Business Growth and Resilience Facility.
‘According to the SEFA assessment, the balance of the 12 954 complete applications requires an estimated budget of R4.4-billion, but the bulk of the applications require assistance with payment of salaries to the total value of R3.6-billion.
‘In this regard, the DSBD has entered into an agreement with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) to ensure that SMMEs that previously did not qualify due to non-compliance can be covered by the UIF provided they agree to an acknowledgement of debt as well as payment terms with the UIF.
‘Furthermore, this agreement ensures that SMMEs that had already applied for payroll assistance through the SMME Debt Relief Finance Scheme do not need to re-apply with the UIF, but their applications will be forwarded directly to the UIF,’ the department said in a statement.
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The assessment also indicated that applications for a total value of R800-million are from businesses which, if supported, would be able to meet their own financial obligations when they return to work.
The aim of the scheme is to assist small businesses with working capital during the period when economic activity was negatively affected due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The elements of working capital covered through the scheme were payroll assistance for employers whose employees do not qualify for UIF relief, on condition that those employers register their employees with UIF.
They also covered assistance to allow businesses to pay their rental obligations for either working tools or facilities, or business premises.
‘The DSBD will publish the names of the SMMEs funded during Window-1 on all its websites as from Friday, 29 May and the demographic spread including rand values per demographic spread,’ the department said.
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