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Estimates of the Provincial Revenue and Expenditure (EPRE) %u2013 2025/26 Financial Yearof employment and economic growth in most economies. The provincial government has prioritised the MSME sector as critical for job creation, entrepreneurship and broader economic development. ECDC continues to provide financial support to small businesses and cooperatives across the province, with 358 MSMEs and 51 cooperatives supported in the 2024/25 through various finance schemes including trade loans, Small Town, Township and Rural Entrepreneurship%u2019s Support Program (STTREP), agri-blended finance, grant funding, and the Jobs Fund. Through ECDC%u2019s Economic Development Fund R81 million was leveraged for provincial MSMEs through partnerships with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), DOA/ECRDA blended finance, and Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA). In addition to the financial support there are non-financial support packages directed at business mentorship and training, incubation support and industrial clustering. Incubation and clustering are aimed at providing equipment and infrastructure support to small businesses operating in general manufacturing and the automotive sector. Over the medium-term these services are planned to be scaled up within some of the ECDC owned industrial parks and the East London SEZ. ECDC has initiated programmes to ease the regulatory burden and RED TAPE faced by businesses in the province. The aim is to create a business ready environment with minimal entry barriers for MSMEs. To date, engagements have been made on illegal and illicit trade with key stakeholders, business registration support and compliance for MSMEs. For 2025/26 an additional budget of R89 million or R207 million over the 2025 MTEF has been allocated to ECDC to recapitalise some of its key business support programmes including: %uf0b7 The Economic Development Fund at R50 million for next three financial years, or R150million over the 2025 MTEF;%uf0b7 Twenty million Rand (R20 million) for MSME support recapitalisation, or R80.6 million overthe 2025 MTEF; andAuto Sector Development & Transformation: Eastern Cape is home to various large Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) such as Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen and Isuzu. The automotive industry in the province is a key economic driver in terms of vehicle production and exports, almost half of the national motor vehicle exports originates from the province. the Eastern Cape government has outlined plans for the development of the automotive industry in various government strategic documents. The EC-AIDC has been tasked with the development and transformation of the auto sector in the province. Its focus areas include supporting emerging auto component suppliers, assisting OEMs in the province transition to electric vehicles production, and setting up the auto after market in the province. To date, six Electric Vehicles (EV) charging stations have been installed across the province with the remaining seven due to be installed during the 2025/26 financial year. AIDC-EC%u2019s aftermarket programme aims to provide financial support, skills development, facilitate compliance and promote market access for MSMEs in the automotive sector. The AIDC-EC has targeted to provide aftermarket support to 300 MSMEs in the historically disadvantaged areas over the next three years. The development of EV production and the battery subcomponent value chain is another priority focus for the auto sector. Tax incentives to attract investments into EV production have been 43