Standard Bank’s investment fund achieves milestone

by Richard Kilner

Story link: Standard Bank’s investment fund achieves milestone

The Standard Bank’s Community Investment Fund (CIF) has achieved an important milestone in Umlazi, KwaZulu Natal.

The CIF was set up to provide informal businesses with loans that they would have been unable to gain through more usual means as they would fail to meet lending criteria.

It was first set up in September of last year, and now 100 informal businesses have benefited to the tune of R1.7m.

Those catered to by the CIF vary from farmers to spaza shop owners and tailors, and the amount disbursed is particularly important because of a pledge by the KwaZulu Natal government to match Standard Bank’s loans once the R1m milestone had been surpassed in Umlazi.

Dr Zweli Mkhize has confirmed that the government is to contribute R1m to the Community Investment Fund.

Chief executive for Standard Bank South Africa, Sim Tshabalala, described the initiative’s success as an example of what can happen when the people, the government and the bank work together.

The CIF is an innovative scheme, particularly as the loans are not made on the basis of collateral, instead peer pressure is relied upon to guarantee repayment.