The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has reportedly disbursed R15.9 billion of its own funds to businesses across various industries for the year ended March 2024, facilitating the creation of 17 826 jobs. Despite being 11% lower than the previous year’s R17.8 billion, the IDC’s funding enabled an additional R51.7 billion in investments, representing 2% of South Africa’s gross fixed capital formation. Funds committed to black industrialists totalled R10 billion, while those for black-owned businesses rose by R5.3 billion to R13 billion. However, funding for youth entrepreneurs declined to R456 million from R501 million. The number of jobs created or sustained also fell nearly 50% from 34 035 to 17 826, attributed to funding directed towards flood and social unrest recovery efforts. IDC interim CEO David Jarvis acknowledged that challenging economic conditions, including load-shedding, lower commodity prices and weakening demand have also impacted the IDC’s goals and funding capacity. Despite these hurdles, Jarvis expressed optimism about improvements in Eskom’s performance and positive developments at Transnet, which are expected to boost the economy and attract foreign direct investment.
