South Africa’s government began a 1.2 billion rand ($79.4 million) fund aimed at reviving the ailing tourism business, the Tourism Equity Fund will be utilized in specific to assist black entrepreneurs start businesses and projects within the sector, Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane mentioned on Tuesday. The money will come from the government, lenders, and the Pretoria-based Small Business Finance Agency, she mentioned.
tourism-dependent businesses have been significantly hard hit throughout the Covid-19 pandemic as border closures and travel restrictions stop the usual movement of holidaymakers from Europe and elsewhere. The identification of a new coronavirus variant in South Africa late last yr only exacerbated the situation, putting the nation on many nations’ lists of places to avoid.
Under normal circumstances, tourism accounts for 2.9% of South Africa’s economy and about 1.5 million jobs, President Cyril Ramaphosa mentioned at the launch.
“This is a sector that’s labor-intensive, and therefore has immense job creation potential,” he mentioned. “It generates foreign-direct funding and significant export earnings. It stimulates and helps the event of small companies.”
