Funding suited to early-stage businesses

Amount determined per milestone phase

Suits early-stage businesses

A milestone-based grant programme for young South African entrepreneurs, launched 26 June 2026. AYEF provides phased, non-repayable grant funding — no repayment, no equity taken. Open to entrepreneurs from idea stage and informal traders through to established small businesses. Funded through a partnership between Absa and the Tshiamo Foundation.

Amount determined per milestone phase

A milestone-based grant programme for young South African entrepreneurs, launched 26 June 2026. AYEF provides phased, non-repayable grant funding — no repayment, no equity taken. Open to entrepreneurs from idea stage and informal traders through to established small businesses. Funded through a partnership between Absa and the Tshiamo Foundation.

Grant up to R2.5 million (blended)

Suits early-stage businesses

Blended finance support for registered co-operative enterprises. The grant portion is capped at R2.5 million for qualifying activities. Priority is given to co-operatives owned by women, youth, and people with disabilities in rural, township, and peri-urban areas.

R50 000 to R10 million

Suits early-stage businesses

Commercial loans and overdraft facilities for small and medium businesses, with a dedicated Business Hub channel offering faster approvals and a relationship banker assigned to each client. Includes unsecured business loans, invoice discounting, and asset finance. Nedbank's Unlocked.Me programme specifically targets youth entrepreneurs aged 18–35.

R50 000 to R1.3 million (award-based)

Suits early-stage businesses

Grants and business development support for high-impact South African entrepreneurs and social enterprises. Covers sectors with strong job-creation and community development potential. Includes annual award competitions and an ongoing enterprise development pipeline for qualifying businesses. The Social Innovation Awards offer grants of R300 000 to R1.3 million; enterprise development grants range from R50 000 to R500 000.

Up to R100 000

Suits early-stage businesses

Financial and non-financial support for South African-owned township and rural community convenience shops, including spaza shops and general dealers. The fund supports stock purchases, infrastructure upgrades, refrigeration, shelving, security systems, POS adoption, training, digital literacy, food safety, and business compliance.