Theme: green_transition
Responsible: SEFA / Department of Small Business Development / DBSA
The JET presents genuine SMME opportunities in solar installation, EV servicing, and green construction. However, access to finance for green investments is limited and technical skills are scarce. A blended-finance facility (DBSA/SEFA partnership) with technical assistance could unlock meaningful SMME participation. The November 2022 parliamentary briefing identified the funding gap clearly.
Who backs this reform, who needs convincing, and which interests or red lines shape political feasibility.
Backers
7
1 stakeholders
Negotiation weight
9
1 conditional actors
Opposition weight
0
0 opposing actors
Review coverage
0/2
All mapped stance notes are still draft
Provenance warning
Every mapped stakeholder stance for this idea is still draft. The coalition score is directional only until at least the high-influence actors are reviewed.
Coalition Read
Anchor: National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). Highest-leverage swing actor: National Treasury.
Political Tractability
No reviewed signals · 0% of mapped influence has been reviewed.
NUM supports the Just Energy Transition SMME Finance Facility as it directly funds alternative livelihoods for coal communities.
Interest: Mining employment security and worker safety; just transition pace that protects coal-dependent community livelihoods; collective bargaining rights in…
Concern: Accelerated coal phase-out without adequate income support, skills retraining, and community economic diversification; renewable energy job quality —…
Engagement path: Just transition fund with dedicated skills retraining and income support; coal community economic diversification plans with government commitments an…
Treasury supports the JET SMME facility only if funded through JETP mechanisms rather than additional fiscal commitments.
Interest: Fiscal consolidation with public debt stabilising below 75% of GDP; structural reforms that improve revenue without expanding contingent liabilities;…
Concern: Unfunded mandates in energy transition (JETP co-financing); Eskom's R400bn+ debt and how restructuring socialises costs; reform proposals that create…
Engagement path: Reforms must be fiscally neutral or revenue-positive over the MTEF window; SOE restructuring must demonstrably reduce contingent liabilities; credible…
South Africa's Just Energy Transition (JET) Investment Plan commits R1.5 trillion over 20 years to transition away from coal, creating significant commercial opportunities in renewable energy installation, energy efficiency retrofitting, battery storage, and green manufacturing. Most of these opportunities require upfront capital that small and medium enterprises cannot easily access through commercial banks, which apply standard credit criteria penalising early-stage energy companies. The DSBD, in coordination with the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA), is developing a dedicated JET-SMME Finance Facility providing blended first-loss instruments, technical assistance grants, and revenue-based financing. The facility would complement the International Partners Group's $8.5 billion JET-IP commitments, which are directed primarily at large infrastructure.
Referenced in OECD Economic Surveys: South Africa
OECD SA Survey (2022, 2025). Lowering barriers to entrepreneurship and promoting small business is recommended since the 2017 survey.
Kenya's Central Bank granted Safaricom a non-bank mobile money licence in 2007, resisting commercial bank pressure to restrict M-Pesa. Financial inclusion rose from 26% (2006) to 83% (2021) — among the fastest trajectories globally. Smallholder incomes rose 9–12% as payment costs fell. M-Shwari provided collateral-free micro-loans to 20+ million borrowers. IMF estimates M-Pesa contributed 1.5–2 percentage points to GDP growth over 2010–2020. SA's rigid banking regulation suppresses comparable fintech-driven SMME credit; the SARB Project Khokha is promising but not yet at M-Pesa scale.
Approach
Kenya's Central Bank granted Safaricom a non-bank mobile money licence in 2007, allowing M-Pesa to operate outside traditional banking regulation. The government resisted pressure from commercial banks to restrict the service. By 2020, over 96% of households had M-Pesa access and the system processed transactions equivalent to ~50% of GDP annually. M-Shwari (mobile credit) followed, providing collateral-free micro-loans to 20+ million borrowers.
Timeline: 3 years to scale (2007–2010); full ecosystem maturity by 2015
Lessons for South Africa
SA's rigid banking-adjacent regulatory framework and lack of interoperability between mobile wallets suppresses fintech-driven SMME credit. The Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group has recommended a sandbox approach; Kenya's experience suggests early licensing combined with regulatory patience — not restriction — is the growth path. The SARB's Project Khokha is promising but not yet operationalised at M-Pesa scale.
SMME Regulatory Burden Reduction
Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) Extension and Expansion
Labour Activation Programme for Long-Term Unemployed
National Small Enterprise Amendment Act: Ombud Service Operationalisation
Urban Land Release for Affordable Housing and Infrastructure
How to cite
Wilse-Samson, L. (2026). Just Energy Transition SMME Finance Facility. SA Policy Space. NYU Wagner School of Public Policy. Retrieved 11 May 2026, from https://sa-policy-space.vercel.app/ideas/just-energy-transition-smme-finance-facility?snapshot=2026-05-11
Enabling Policy & Regulatory Environment for SMMEs & Co-operatives - Role of National Treasury
Small Business Development · Nov 2022
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PMG ↗Data as of 2026-05-11 · latest PMG meeting 2026-05-08
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