Fund a Small Business Grant in Southern Africa

Dear Supporters,

Starting their business with only 200 South African Rand, Estratweni is one of the entrepreneurs which the GVI Trust has been supporting through microloans. Estratweni is a food and catering company which we first started to work with in 2018 when the GVI Trust provided a small loan to enable them to grow their business and invest in a food truck. A year later, when the business had grown, more people were employed and the loan was repaid a new proposal came in. Estratweni wanted to start a restaurant in a township outside of Cape Town. With a reliable track-record, the GVI Trust offered a new loan. As with all of our loans, the GVI Trust does not make a profit. Whilst the entrepreneur is required to pay back the loan, no interest is charged. Instead, the business is encouraged to do an independent donation as a thank you, making it possible for other entrepreneurs to get access to funding. 

Thus, in the end of March South Africa decided to go into lockdown, stopping all food businesses from operating, including Estratweni. As we have seen around the world, the side effects of lockdown has terrifying side-effects on the economy as it leaves people unemployed and business owners see their life's work disappear. In times like these, it is essential to find innovative solutions to survive. And if there is one thing we can say about Estratweni, it is that they do not give up. 

To survive during the time of lockdown they managed to secure a partnership with one grocery store and with one large NGO to supply food packages to two townships on a daily basis. This would not only keep their staff employed and their business afloat but feed those struggling during these difficult times! Estratweni felt like it was an excellent opportunity to give back to the community which has been supporting their business for the past years. 

As the lockdown in South Africa is slowly easing, Estratweni was quick to change their business model to serve the different levels of lockdown. Whilst the government still does not allow sit-down orders or picking-ups orders, the do allow deliveries. So, that is what Estratweni is currently doing. They have started to deliver food within the townships, something which used to be exclusive to the expensive city area. People in the community can now order food and get it delivered to their door without breaking the law and staying in safe distance from others. Whilst we hope South Africa will recover quickly from covid-19 and its aftermath, we are proud of the steps taken by our entrepreneurs!

As covid-19 has changed all of our lives in just a couple of months we hope that you are all remaining healthy, both physically and mentally during these difficult times. What this teaches us is the power of innovation and resilience, both in managing a virus and the side effects of social distancing. Thank you for supporting our innovative entrepreneurs and giving them a chance to change the way we do business, one loan at the time.

Thank you to all of our Supporters, Fundraisers and Donors!

With Gratitude,

Africa Micro Loans