The CDI has opened a new call for applications for its SCALE [Supporting Creatives + Accelerating Local Enterprises] project, supported by the National Treasury’s Jobs Fund. The initiative is recruiting a further 100 South African craft and design entrepreneurs, who will benefit from bespoke training and mentorship specifically designed for creatives and a boost of R23 000 in grant funding each.
The programme in its first round of applications saw a high percentage of women and youth (entrepreneurs under 35) apply and the CDI is calling on more women and youth nationally to get support in this new intake of 100.
The project aims to provide growth-oriented informal enterprises looking to grow their revenue, increase their personal income or employ new staff, with grant support, access to markets, training, and mentorship.
Benefits
Support offered through this project covers the most cited main areas of need identified by individual business owners in this segment: access to markets, finance, and capacity development.
- This second cohort of 100 selected entrepreneurs will start on the programme in July 2023.
- A Business Assessment may be done with each successful applicant, which will assist in creating a roadmap.
- There will be 3 months of specially designed training (via online learning), the facilitation of participation in the CDI’s market platform PEEK, and the development of an intervention/action plan development for the up to R23 000 grant disbursements. Successful applicants will also get administrative support to the value of R5 000 and a total allocation of airtime/data to the value of R3 000.
- The final 6 months of the programme consist of mentoring, grant disbursements and financial reporting with an additional 6 months of tracking to determine the impact.
- The grant will be unlocked as the business owners achieve specific milestones and can be used for the purchase of equipment and/or other professional services.
- Successful participants will be required to report to the CDI team on a monthly basis and be willing to participate in monitoring and evaluation processes.
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage
Application Deadline: June 15, 2023
