EMERGENCY RELIEF

The Sukuma Fund was established within days of lockdown with an initial R1 billion donation from the Rupert Family and Remgro Limited. Since then, thanks to further charitable donations, the fund has grown by tens of millions of rands.

Our goal is to rescue and revive thousands of small businesses across the country – preserving jobs and supporting the people who depend on them.

These small businesses will play an essential role in our country’s economic recovery when the pandemic is over.

We provide two types Emergency Support to Small Businesses.

Survival Grants:

• Survival grants (of R25,000 each) help support small business owners until they’re able to return to work.
• Qualifying recipients include sole proprietors (independent craftspeople, freelancers and consultants who work for themselves) as well as SMEs.
• Survival grants do not need to be repaid.

Soft Loans:

• Low-interest loans (of up to R1 million each) enable qualifying small businesses threatened with closure to remain in business and to pay employees.
• These loans provide financial assistance for payroll expenses and ongoing working capital requirements for four months. The objective is to ensure that the business continues to operate after Covid-19.
• Loans are interest-free for the first 12 months, after which recipients will pay interest at the prime rate, which is much lower than a commercial loan.
• There are also no collateral or security requirements and no repayments for the first 12 months. Loan repayments start a year after the first of four monthly payments, and the full capital is then repayable over four years.