In a bold move that has startled its tourism industry, which continues to reel from Covid’s impact, South Africa’s government this month opened an $82 million “Tourism Equity Fund” to provide capital — through a combination of debt finance, concessional loans and grants — to qualifying new or existing tourism and hospitality projects that are at least 51 percent Black South African-owned and controlled. Spearheaded by South Africa’s Department of Tourism, in collaboration with the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA), this public-private fund is the first of its kind in South Africa — and possibly at a global level — in that it is expressly intended to diversify the country’s tourism industry, which is predominantly white-owned and operated, by opening the door to ownership and equity for South African entrepreneurs of color of varying socioeconomic backgrounds, including women and youth.
SOURCE: SKIFT
More Stories
Trends for African Students Seeking Education Abroad
Floods and Landslides Batter Madagascar
Anyone Interested in East Africa’s Dynamic Urbanisation Process should have this Book
Filling the Gap in Locally Grown Techpreneurs
South Africa has Signed an Agreement to Reintroduce Dozens of Cheetahs in India
Enhancing Trust and Security in Digital Africa
Energy Giant Eni Signed an $8 billion Gas Deal with Libya’s State-run National Oil Corporation
Expectations of the Pope’s Visit to Africa
The First Muslim to Helm South Africa’s Biggest Metropolis
The First Africa Vegan Restaurant Week
Lagos Rising: Meet the African Designers Who are Ushering in a New Guard of Fashion
My Life in Food: Idris Elba on African Cuisine and Cooking with his Mum