Young entrepreneurs get govt loans

Cape Town - The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) has in its first year extended 7 500 microfinance loans to the value of R23m, Monitoring and Evaluation Minister Collins Chabane said on Wednesday.

He told the National Assembly the NYDA has disbursed a further R3 million in loans to small- and medium-sized enterprises and issued 4 244 business consultancy vouchers worth more than R33m.

Chabane said the agency needed more money, but had begun to supplement its government funding of R369.9m for this budget year with partnerships with other organisations.

"The budget allocated to the NYDA is inadequate. If this institution has to fulfill its mandate, more resources need to be allocated to it.

"However, the NYDA recognises that not all its funding should come from the government. As such the organisation has made strides by entering into partnerships with some of the country's smallest and biggest organisations, both public and private, for youth development purposes."

The NYDA was formed last year from the merger of the National Youth Commission and the Umsobomvu Fund.

- Sapa