South Africa: Coca-Cola fund, managed by Edge Growth, seeks to back SMEs

Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) has given fresh impetus to its SME fund, which is managed by Edge Growth.

The company has committed R100 million (c. $5.6 million) over five years to help suppliers and SMEs access finance to deliver on existing or new contracts and promote their growth and sustainability.

The fund has a new name, Khulanathi, which means “grow with us” in isiZulu.

CCBSA head of procurement transformation, Busisiwe Thusi said the CCBSA Khulanathi SME Fund will “empower black-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as part of our commitment to transform our procurement spend and accelerate the growth and development of SMEs”.

“By working with and empowering these businesses to grow, we can help unlock a better future for enterprising individuals , their families and employees. In fact, the growth of small and medium sized enterprises augers well for their communities as money can circulate there, something that is very key to the growth of communities. Our commitment is to create shared value for the business and our host communities whose development is tightly linked to ours,” said Thusi.