As announced in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation last week, we have pledged R1bn to extend a financial lifeline to employees of South African Small, Medium, and Micro-sized Enterprises (“SMMEs”). Our aim is to mitigate the immediate economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis by keeping companies in business and protecting jobs, in order to fast-track South Africa’s economic recovery after this pandemic.

Our response, in collaboration with the South African Government and private sector, is to create a structure that will extend direct financial support to SMME employees who are at risk of losing their jobs or will suffer a loss of income because of COVID-19.

We are proud to announce that the South African Future Trust (“SAFT”) was formally established for this purpose with the initial R1bn commitment.