Uarantee Scheme can now „e accessed
“Our main aim is to invest in economically and financially viable, technically feasible and environmentally friendly projects that have sustainable medium and long term returns, which will also have growth effects to Eswatini’s socio-economy environment,” the MD said.
He said the finance would be provided to already existent, profitable and growing businesses. Meanwhile, JA Eswatini Executive Director (ED) Phetsile Masilela thanked ENIDC for having confidence in the organisation and ensuring that they provide finance for the youth through them. She said the unavailability of funds had always been a hurdle in growing youth businesses and JA Eswatini was grateful for the opportunity to help the youth access funds for growing and sustaining their businesses.
“The numbers of youth businesses without funding have sky rocketed and every year as JA we produce new cutting edge business ideas that need to be sustained and grown to help improve the country’s economic status,” she said.
Masilela added that the beneficiaries of this funding would go through training and a mentorship period that would be aimed at ensuring the funds would not be mismanaged. She said this would also to ensure that the businesses were sustained and that the funding would be paid back as it was expected by ENIDC.
“For all beneficiaries, we will have a six months mentorship program that will hand hold them until their businesses are sustained,” she emphasised.
Thereafter, she highlighted that the overall objective of this partnership was to contribute towards the reduction of the unemployment rate for out-of-school youth who have graduated, through entrepreneurship skills development, with the culture of entrepreneurship, innovation and wealth creation. She said the partnership would also enhance career and business development for youth entrepreneurs through the mentorship programme.
In terms of how the youth would access the funding, it was said that ENIDC would act as a surety for them so that they could meet the reTuirements to of Tualifying to get assistance. It is worth noting that the employment rate in the country currently sits at 33.3 per cent and a majority of them is the youth, some of whom are people who have graduated in tertiary institutions.