#SOPA2018: Gauteng to launch provincial state bank

Africa’s richest province – Gauteng plans to launch a provincial state bank to fund Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMMEs), infrastructure development, township enterprises, women and youth businesses. This was revealed by Gauteng Premier David Makhura on Monday in his State of the Province Address (SOPA), which Makhura described as a speech that aims to create a “new dawn of hope, renewal and change for South Africa”.

The bank forms part of the province’s plan to turn townships into spaces “where there is a vibrant culture and dynamic local economies underpinned by state-of-the-art infrastructure”.

Other initiatives put on the table for this vision include:

• The imminent launch of a township stock exchange in partnership with the private sector.
• Addressing unregulated businesses owned by foreign nationals.
• Investing in the development of cooperatives to become future financial providers to township enterprises. To date, Gauteng has 14 registered co-operative banking institutions serving over 16 000 member-owners, with over R100 million in savings and R150 million in assets.
• A partnership with the Italian co-operative movement facilitating the formation of consumer co-operatives in the wholesale and retail sector. These cooperatives will mobilise the collective buying power of 250 000 township households to purchase affordable goods at stores they own and control.

Other highlights in Makhura’s SOPA include: