Page 44 - Provincial Treasury Estimates.pdf

Overview of the Provincial Revenue and Expenditure (OPRE) Financial Year 2023/24
Furthermore, in 2023/24 the ECDC through DEDEAT has been allocated the following additional allocations
of R355.021 million - which consists amongst others of R27.500 million towards property modernization &
development; R30 million will be directed towards SMME Support; R45.793 million is allocated for provincial

Enterprise Development and Business Support Services and R51.011 million is for supporting SMMEs in
the Province with trade and investment promotion andR20 million is allocated as additional funding for agro-

processing. It is envisioned that these allocations will be positive investments in developing SMMEs in the
Province as they are the catalyst of growth and development of the economy. Over the 2023 MTEF, ECDC
is further allocated R238.615 million in 2024/25 and R247.349 million in 2025/26.

Economic Development Fund

The provincial government has established an Eastern Cape Economic Development Fund to be located at
and managed by the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC). The Fund amongst other thing will
be a vehicle for:

x Resource mobilization and levering – enabling access to national and international development
resources in areas such as climate change and adaptation, green development and renewable

energy, agri-development and food security, digital economy and youth development, and enterprise
finance and support; through collaborative partnerships;

x Private sector partnerships - directed at stimulating, protecting and sustaining economic activity in
high potential industry value chains such in the automotive, manufacturing, and tourism sectors;

x Investments in strategic economic infrastructure necessary for supporting industry cluster

development in sectors with high potential for job creation particularly in agriculture and agro-
processing; and

x Enterprise finance and support directed at driving inclusive growth through access to finance and
business support by SMMEs and informal business sector enterprises.

Through this fund the ECDC will be expected to therefore work with both the public and the private sector,
including government departments, national and provincial public entities, local government, industry

players, business chambers and communities to drive industrialization, sector support and job creation.
Over the 2023/24 financial year, R100 million is allocated as seed funding to initiate the Fund and investment
framework.

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