925 small businesses received R188 million from the government

The Department of Small Business Development paid out over R188 million to 925 small businesses during the last financial year as part of its Asset Assist Programme (ASP).

This was revealed by the Minister of Small Business Development, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, in response to a parliamentary question from National Assembly Member Mokgaetji Mafagane.

Mafagane had asked the Minister to disclose the total rand value of the projects and/or funding applications that were received and approved by the Department.

She also asked the Minister how much had so far been disbursed to successful applicants, and the total number of businesses benefiting from the programme in each province.

Finally, she asked for the reasons for the rejection of unsuccessful applicants, measures put in place to assist these applicants, and the timeline for finalising outstanding applications and disbursements.

In response, Ndabeni-Abrahams revealed that the Department received 16,195 applications during the 2025/26 financial year cycle, totalling R1.9 billion.

Of these, 925 applications were approved across all nine provinces of South Africa, with the Department disbursing R188 million to these enterprises.

Limpopo had the highest number of successful applicants, with 127 businesses receiving R27.34 million in total from the programme.

Meanwhile, the Western Cape had the fewest successful applicants, with 75, earning R14.12 million from the total share.

“Six approved applications were administratively withdrawn after approval, reducing the active applicant base to 919,” Ndabeni-Abrahams said.

“As of 31 August 2026, 890 of the approved deliveries had been completed, representing a national delivery rate of 96%, while 35 deliveries remained outstanding.”

The Minister said a majority of the applicants who were rejected had failed to meet the programme’s requirements.

Reasons given for rejection included incomplete applications, missing documentation, non-compliance with tax requirements, and submitting after the closing date, among others.

She said the Department had implemented a number of measures to assist applicants who met most of the requirements but were unsuccessful.

These ranged from targeted pre-application workshops and improved guidance on tax compliance to direct engagement with SARS and Sedfa on strengthening financial readiness.

According to Ndabeni-Abrahams, the final 35 deliveries are scheduled to be completed by the end of the third quarter for 2026/27, with no outstanding applications to be processed.

The ASP is a grant initiative designed to give micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises up to R250,000 to fund machinery, equipment, raw materials, and working capital.