The youth of Kwazulu-Natal will soon know the outcomes of their applications for the youth fund.
In January this year, KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala officially launched the fund at the Department of Public Works in Mayville, Durban.
Youth Fund aims to assist deserving young people to kick-start their business ventures, fund new innovative business ideas and to expand young people’s existing businesses without the red tape associated with the traditional ways of accessing funding.
The Youth, who are eager to change the face of the provincial economy, were then invited to apply for funding for their ideas.
Zikalala said that the youth have applied in numbers, from villages to towns.
“We thank them for their patience as we went through a thorough, rigorous, evaluation process and conducted due diligence to identify recipients of the funding.
“We are counting down the hours to the official announcement of the successful candidates of this imminent and groundbreaking announcement,” said Zikalala.
The KZN Youth Fund follows comprehensive research by Youth Directorates of both the Premier’s Office and KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development, Tourism, and Environmental Affairs, that identified a huge gap in youth business financial aid.
The youth fund will bridge this gap by expediting the funding process especially to those businesses in the rural areas.
This fund also received the nod from the provincial Cabinet after passing through stringent scrutiny.
