Fund a Small Business Grant in Southern Africa

Since the late 90s, there has been a major decline in the number of people working in the formal sector, due to; low levels of employment or lack of jobs. The pandemic has made us aware of the importance and key roles that entrepreneurs and informal workers have on the success of our economy and in many African countries, the lockdowns have meant that many people have to stop working or lost their jobs due to closure. Now is our time to act which is why this project aims to provide loans to people who have sustainable business ideas, providing them with an income, sense of empowerment as well as creating jobs to provide employment to others.

With high unemployment rates and low foreign trade, people in Africa are heavily reliant on micro-businesses. Thus, without credit becomes impossible to get a loan to get your business off the ground. Action Change partners with local NGOs and entrepreneurs to provide them with the training, skills and funding they need to get their small business off the ground. Instead of a high-interest rate, the entrepreneur gets to do a donation to a future entrepreneur!

High unemployment rates and sanctions for foreign manufacturing means that there are limited opportunities to earn an income. Without financial security, getting access to the initial loans to start a business is difficult, if not possible. With only a small number of people having credit to start an enterprise, the opportunities to be self-sufficient makes access to break the cycle of poverty unequal and income inequality continues to rise.

Together with local NGOs and institutions, we identify entrepreneurs with a solid and sustainable business idea. After a selection process, each entrepreneur will get the capacity building required to be given the best opportunity for success. Once trained, they will be assisted with the initial products to be able to earn the money to continue the operations independently. Instead of a high-interest rate, the entrepreneur gets to do a donation to a future entrepreneur!

By giving people access to starting capital, communities will quickly become self-sufficient. This will not only ensure that they will not on foreign support but further have the funds to put their children through school, get access to healthcare services and participate in the greater economy. Aside from providing an income to the entrepreneur, this also creates employment opportunity for others as the businesses grow, helping to develop the communities in which they work. This will break the cycle of poverty.

This project has not yet posted any reports.