The Tholoana Enterprise Fund
The Tholoana Enterprise Fund
The Tholoana Enterprise Fund aims to provide small-scale grassroots support for small enterprises, co-ops, micro-businesses and other ventures which invest in entrepreneurial development and provide income generation and employment. The focus of the TEF is on small, rural, women-owned and/or youth-owned enterprises, as well as on enterprises owned by and/or employing persons with disabilities. All businesses applying for funding should be black-owned* and managed, and operational. The Tholoana Enterprise Fund offers three levels of funding. This form is for “Mbeu” level funding.
Mbeu
‘Mbeu’ is a tshiVenda word meaning ‘seed’. The ‘Mbeu’ package offers seed capital for businesses that are in the start-up or early development phase. The business needs to be operational, and less than 2 years old. The owner(s) of the business need to be involved in the day to day running of the business. ‘Mbeu’ package funding ranges from R50, 000 to R100, 000.
Application process
Interested parties are invited to complete the applicable TEF Application Form. The completed form and supporting documents should be e-mailed to [email protected]. The application form must be sent in Word format; no other format will be accepted. You are only allowed to apply for one fund, i.e. Mbeu, Tshimela or Muri.
The application will be assessed against eligibility criteria. Due diligence will then be performed to verify the information supplied by applicants and also to further assess the viability of the business. The best prospects are then presented and motivated to the investment committee for approval.
Successful applicants enter into a grant agreement with the Foundation. This agreement sets out the obligations of the Foundation and the applicant as well as any additional conditions that the investment committee or the board may have. When all conditions have been met, the beneficiary may access the funds as agreed. Decisions of the Investment Committee and the Board are final and no correspondence will be entered into.
