Question NW699 to the Minister of Tourism

Reply:

(a) What process is being followed regarding the Tourism Equity Fund,

The Tourism Equity Fund (TEF) is implemented and administered by the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (sefa) on behalf of the Department.

The application process is as follows:

• All qualifying applications to be submitted to sefa with the application form and required documents, to the dedicated email address [email protected] or online platform.
• sefa fund manager will allocate the application to investment professionals who will review applications and conduct vetting, due diligence and financial viability assessment for presentation to the approval committee.
• A process of legal contracting and disbursements to be conducted by sefa

(b) What total number of applications were approved?

Based on the most recent report received from sefa, 12 TEF applications have been approved as at 10 September 2024.

(i) What criteria were used for accessibility and approval?

Prospective applicants to the TEF must meet the following qualifying criteria:

• be 100% owned by South African citizens;

• must have a minimum of 30% (thirty percent) black ownership, or if black ownership is less than 30% the TEF funding should result in a minimum of 30% (thirty percent) black ownership;

• be a registered legal entity in South Africa in terms of the Companies Act, 1973 (as amended) Close Corporations Act, 1984 (as amended) and the Cooperatives Act, 2005 (as amended);

• be fully compliant with applicable laws of the country;

• be compliant with the loan requirements of applicable debt provider; and

• be operating in the qualifying sectors.

(ii) What audit mechanisms are in place to ensure the Fund is not abused and/or mismanaged?

A formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and a Service Level Agreement (SLA) are in place between the Department of Tourism and sefa. Sefa submits regular reports of financial and non-financial performance to the Department’s Director-General for monitoring and evaluation.