Established in 1940, the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Ltd (IDC) is a national development finance institution set up to promote economic growth and industrial development. They are owned by the South African government under the supervision of the Economic Development Department.

Vision

They aim to be the primary source of commercially sustainable industrial development and innovation to benefit both South Africa and the rest of Africa.

Mission

Their mandate is to contribute to the creation of balanced, sustainable economic growth in South Africa and on the rest of the continent.

They promote entrepreneurship through the building of competitive industries and enterprises based on sound business principles.

They do this by:

• Proactively identifying and funding of high-impact and labour-intensive projects;
• Leading the creation of viable new industries;
• Using their diverse industry expertise to drive growth in priority sectors; and
• Taking up higher-risk funding projects.

Caring for the environment

They support responsible environmental practices and integrate them into all their activities by:

• Encouraging compliance by all our applicants;
• Managing the impacts of all projects;
• Promoting the responsible use of all resources; and
• Encouraging the use of environmentally-friendly products.

The Development Funds Department

Since 1940, the Industrial Development Corporation, South Africa’s largest development finance institution, has helped to build the industrial capacity that fuels the country’s economic growth, by funding viable businesses.

South Africa’s prosperity is inextricably linked to the economic development of the rest of Africa, which offers enormous market potential and as yet untapped resources. As the government’s key partner in revitalising the economy, the IDC focuses on priority economic sectors that offer the greatest potential to unlock job opportunities.

The Development Funds Department provides funding support to projects that have a high development impact. It achieves this by managing higher risk-taking funds, and disbursing these funds into deserving projects.

The Development Funds Department manages both IDC ring-fenced and third party funds, which are allocated to development needs not typically addressed through the standard IDC funding mechanism.

The funding schemes support the aims of the New Growth Path (NGP) set out by the Economic Development Department (EDD), which emphasises technological innovation, growth, employment creation and equity.

The funds currently managed under the Development Funds Department are:

• Gro-e-Scheme
• Support Programme for Industrial Innovation
• Risk Capital Facility Programme
• Transformation and Entrepreneurship Scheme
• Agro-Processor Linkage Scheme
• Agro-Processing Competitiveness Fund, and
• Clothing & Textiles Competitiveness Programme