Covid-19 and African tech startups roundup [22/06/2020]

In a ruling on Friday (19 June), The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria described as too vague, the Department of Small Business Development’s use of race and other criteria when deciding on whom to disburse Covid-19 relief funds to.

As such, the court instructed the Small Business Minister Khumbudzo Ntshaveheni (pictured above) to redraft regulations on who will be favoured in receiving funds from its two relief schemes.

This, as Visa has launched a new SME resource hub. It follows the launch of a portal to support small businesses by the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Entrepreneurship last month.

With Covid-19 headlining news all over the world, Ventureburn has launched a regular daily roundup on the virus and how it is affecting Africa’s tech startup sector.

A court described as too vague, the Small Business Department’s use of race and other criteria when deciding to whom to disburse Covid-19 funds

Those with any news releases relating to Covid-19 and Africa’s tech startup sector can send these to editor@memeburn.com.

Here then is the latest on the coronavirus and African tech startups:

‘Race criteria too vague’: In a ruling on Friday (19 June), The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria described as too vague, the Department of Small Business Development’s to use of race and other criteria when deciding on whom to disburse Covid-19 relief funds to, Fin24 reported in an article yesterday. As such, the court instructed the Small Business Minister Khumbudzo Ntshaveheni to redraft regulations on who will be favoured in receiving funds from its two relief schemes. The case was brought to court by the DA.

‘UIF process unreliable’: The process to access the Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) via the Department of Labour’s Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) has turned out to be “grossly unreliable” and cumbersome, with some employees not getting benefits on time, business lobby group Business for SA (B4SA) said in a statement on Friday (19 June).

New small business portal: The University of Pretoria’s Centre for Entrepreneurship last month launched a portal to support small businesses in South Africa during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, the university said in an announcement. More than 320 professionals are already offering free professional services via the National SMME Support Portal (NSSP).

Visa launches SME hub: Visa has launched a new SME resource hub and has published the Covid-19 Cemea Impact Tracker highlighting the recent effect the novel coronavirus pandemic has had on commerce for consumers and small merchants in South Africa. The findings of the report highlight increased anxiety amongst merchants with 55% of small businesses reporting a decrease in consumer spending under the lockdown. As part of its SME resource hub, Visa will run a series of podcasts hosted by Visa Country Manager Aldo Laubscher where he will interview relevant industry, government and business personalities to discuss challenges facing SME’s in South Africa.

Read more: Covid-19 and African tech startups roundup [19/06/2020]
Read more: Covid-19 and African tech startups roundup [18/06/2020]
Read more: Covid-19 and African tech startups roundup [17/06/2020]
Read more: Covid-19 and African tech startups roundup [15/06/2020]

Featured image: Small Business Minister Khumbudzo Ntshaveheni (Facebook)