List Of DTI Grants For Small Businesses in South Africa

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in South Africa offers various grants and funding instruments to support different sectors. We will talk about the different types of grants available to businesses under different sectors:

1. Agricultural Sector

Below are grants by DTI that fall under the agricultural sector

1 Agro-Processing Support Scheme (APSS)

The Agro-Processing Support Scheme (APSS) is a program in South Africa that helps agro-processing businesses invest and grow. These businesses turn raw agricultural products into things like food, drinks, or other products.

Objectives:

• The APSS wants to encourage investment in South African agro-processing businesses.
• The investment should lead to things like more jobs, better machinery, and making the businesses more competitive.

Benefits:

• Businesses can get a grant to help cover 20% to 30% of their investment costs, up to a maximum of R20 million, over two years.
• If a project brings extra economic benefits like creating jobs or helping local areas, they might get an additional 10% grant.
• The grant money can be used for different parts of the investment if the business can show it’s a good idea.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Businesses need to fill out an application form and submit a detailed business plan showing what they want to do, how much it will cost, and how they expect to make money for at least three years.
• The application must be submitted within a certain time frame before they start their investment activities.
• If a business already exists, they need to provide their latest financial statements, reviewed by an independent auditor, not older than 18 months.
• Businesses that get approved for the grant can’t reduce their number of employees compared to the previous year, and they have to keep the same number of employees during the grant period.

For more information visit this page

2. Aquaculture Development & Enhancement Programme (ADEP) Grant

The Aquaculture Development and Enhancement Programme (ADEP) is a program in South Africa that helps businesses involved in fish farming and related activities. These businesses can be small or large and can work with both marine (ocean) and freshwater (rivers and lakes) environments.

Objectives:

• The main goal of ADEP is to encourage investment in the aquaculture industry.
• Other goals include creating jobs, involving more people in the industry, increasing fish production, and spreading the industry to different areas.

Benefits:

• ADEP provides financial help to businesses for things like buying equipment, improving infrastructure, or expanding their operations.
• The program can cover up to 50% of certain costs, with a maximum grant of R20 million, for projects that are new, being upgraded, or expanded.
• Eligible expenses include machinery, infrastructure, land, buildings, lease improvements, aquaculture feed, vehicles, skills development, environmental assessments, and mentorship.

Eligible Enterprises:

1. Primary Aquaculture Operations:
   • Includes activities like breeding fish, growing them, and raising them to maturity.
2. Secondary Aquaculture Operations:
   • Involves processing the harvested fish, such as cleaning, cutting, packaging, and adding value to the products.
3. Ancillary Aquaculture Operations:
   • Includes making fish feed.

Small Black Enterprises:

• These are businesses that are entirely owned by black individuals.
• They have control over their operations and management.
• They are committed to their business for the long term and invest less than R5 million.

Overall, ADEP helps businesses in the aquaculture industry grow and succeed by providing financial support for various aspects of their operations.

2. Automotive Sector

Below is a financial grant program that targets people in the automotive sector

A. Automotive Investment Scheme (AIS) Grant

The Automotive Investment Scheme (AIS) is a program meant to help the automotive industry in South Africa grow and improve. It encourages companies to invest in making new car models or parts, which will lead to more cars being made, more jobs being kept, and the automotive industry becoming stronger.

Purpose of the Scheme:

• Encourage investment in new car models and parts to make the automotive industry stronger and more diverse.
• Increase the number of cars produced in factories.
• Keep jobs in the automotive industry and make sure the whole supply chain for cars stays strong.

What Advantages One Gets:

• Companies that invest in new equipment or facilities can get a cash grant from the government. Original equipment manufacturers (companies that make cars) get a 20% grant, while component manufacturers (companies that make parts for cars) get a 25% grant.
• The grants are based on the value of the investment the companies make in their equipment or facilities.

Who Is Eligible:

• For car manufacturers (OEMs), they need to produce at least 50,000 cars per year per factory to qualify for the grant. New companies have a special consideration, and existing companies must also meet this requirement.
• Component manufacturers need to have contracts or letters showing they’ll supply parts directly to car manufacturers, and a certain percentage of their business turnover should come from these sales.

Competitiveness Improvement Costs:

• Companies can also get help to make their processes better, improve product quality, and develop skills. This assistance is limited to certain costs within the first two years after starting production.

Requirements:

• All companies applying for the grant need to meet certain black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) criteria and follow the rules set for the automotive industry.

B) Medium/Heavy Commercial Vehicles Automotive Investment Scheme (MHCV-AIS)

The Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicles Automotive Investment Scheme (MHCV-AIS) is a part of the Automotive Investment Scheme (AIS) in South Africa. It’s aimed at helping the automotive industry grow by encouraging investment in new models and parts for medium and heavy commercial vehicles.

Purpose of Grant:

• The main goal is to boost the automotive sector by investing in new vehicle models and components, which will lead to more production, more jobs, and a stronger automotive supply chain.

Benefits To Businesses:

• Businesses investing in productive assets for medium and heavy commercial vehicles can receive a cash grant from the government. Manufacturers get a 20% grant, while component manufacturers and tooling companies get a 25% grant.

Conditions That MUST Be Met:

• Companies applying must be legally registered in South Africa and must manufacture within the country.
• They must be up-to-date with their tax payments and provide proof of their tax registration.
• The grant can only be used for assets used in South African operations.
• A detailed business plan, including financial projections, must be submitted.
• Companies need to show their compliance with black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) requirements.
• Applications must be submitted within specific time frames before production starts.

Who Is Eligible?

• For truck manufacturers, certain assembly requirements must be met, and parts must be fitted within South Africa.
• Bus chassis manufacturers must comply with specific assembly definitions.
• Component manufacturers must have contracts to supply parts to vehicle manufacturers and meet certain turnover targets.

Overall, the MHCV-AIS aims to support companies involved in manufacturing medium and heavy commercial vehicles and their components, thereby strengthening the automotive industry in South Africa.

Black Business Grant

Black Industrialists Scheme (BIS) Grant

The Black Industrialists (BI) policy in South Africa aims to help businesses owned and managed by black people to grow and succeed in the country’s economy. It does this by providing targeted financial and non-financial support to these businesses, following specific plans laid out by the government.

Objectives:

1. Increase Black Participation: The policy wants to boost the number and quality of black-owned businesses in the economy. It wants these businesses to play a bigger role in sectors like manufacturing, contributing more to growth, investment, exports, and job creation.
2. Create Opportunities: The policy aims to open up different ways for black entrepreneurs to enter important sectors and supply chains in the economy.

Overall Goal:

• The main aim is to support the growth of black-owned businesses in the manufacturing sector. By doing this, the policy hopes to drive industrialization, promote sustainable economic growth, and bring about positive changes in the country’s economy.

Read more about it here

Film Related Grants

Foreign Film & Television Production & Post-Production Incentive (Foreign Film)

The Foreign Film and Television Production and Post-Production Incentive (Foreign Film) is a program designed to encourage big-budget film and television productions, as well as post-production work, to come to South Africa. The aim is to create jobs, boost the country’s international reputation, and improve skills in the creative and technical fields.

Benefits:

• For productions shooting on location in South Africa, a rebate of 25% of Qualifying South African Production Expenditure (QSAPE) is provided, which is capped at R50 million.
• An additional 5% incentive is given if the production also conducts post-production in South Africa and uses services from a black-owned company.
• For post-production work done in South Africa, a rebate of 20% of Qualifying South African Post-Production Expenditure (QSAPPE) is given.
• There’s an extra 2.5% rebate if at least R10 million of the post-production budget is spent in South Africa, making the total rebate 22.5%.
• For foreign post-production work with a QSAPPE of R15 million and above, the rebate is 25%.

Who Is Eligible?

• Productions must have a minimum budget of R15 million.
• For post-production, the budget must be at least R1.5 million.
• The applicant must follow industry standards, including protocols for sexual harassment and health and safety
• A certain percentage of filming or post-production work must be done in South Africa.
• The applicant must meet certain black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) requirements.
• The applicant must procure a minimum percentage of goods and services from entities that are majority black-owned.
• An application must be submitted at least 45 days before filming starts.

General Conditions:

• Filming cannot begin until approval is received from the dti (Department of Trade and Industry).

Overall, the program encourages foreign productions to come to South Africa by offering financial incentives and promoting local businesses and talent.