As a purpose-led organisation that uses its financial expertise to do good, Nedbank is committed to supporting enterprises and initiatives that have the potential to drive meaningful, sustainable development in South Africa. As part of this commitment, the bank actively seeks out innovative ways to leverage its resources and extensive partnerships to create positive social, economic and environmental impact.
In line with this commitment, Nedbank has partnered with Indalo Inclusive to launch the Nedbank Indalo Fund, worth R10 million. The Nedbank Indalo Fund aims to revolutionise the way eco-inclusive enterprises are supported and empowered in South Africa, creating a pipeline of viable businesses that are ready to attract significant investment and drive sustainable growth.
Indalo Inclusive is a non-profit company established to support social, green, inclusive and responsible entrepreneurship in South Africa. Through its theory of change, Indalo Inclusive emphasises eco-inclusive entrepreneurship as a critical foundation on which the country can build a truly inclusive green economy and focus on the intersection of social, economic and environmental impact.
For the past 3 years, Nedbank has been working with Indalo Inclusive on the South African Green and Inclusive Awards Programme (SIAGIA) Indalopreneneurhip Programme to identify and develop such enterprises. It’s been highly successful, having assisted 31 enterprises (29 of which are still in business) and created up to 147 jobs to date.
‘Building on our successful partnership with Indalo Inclusive, we decided to enhance our eco-entrepreneurial funding model by launching the Nedbank Indalo Fund to disburse impactful incentive and performance-based funding,’ explains Poovi Pillay, Executive Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Nedbank. ‘This has important implications as it means we can fund more enterprises with the same capital while, at the same time validating qualifying enterprises as investment-worthy businesses, thereby increasing their chances of accessing additional funding from other sources.’
The Nedbank Indalo Fund is pioneering in its approach. It targets enterprises at the later stages of their development when they already have proven, successful business models in place that are ready for scaling and replication, making the business ready for investors.
According to Pillay, this innovative funding model is specifically designed to prepare enterprises to graduate from grant dependence to competing for investor funding, while allowing a portion of the Nedbank Indalo Fund’s capital to be recycled to support additional entrepreneurs.
The Nedbank Indalo Fund has these 3 key objectives:
- To create value with a once-off funding bridge between commercial and grant funding.
- To develop a solid pipeline of enterprises that are sustainable and ready for investors and that can deliver triple-bottom-line returns.
- To enable sustainable enterprise growth and expansion through relevant financing and business development support.
The Nedbank Indalo Fund will also target multiple measurable environmental impacts across energy reduction, water savings, waste reduction, and agricultural yield.
‘When we 1st launched our Green Economy Strategy, we were clear that we wanted to make a significant positive social and environmental impact and contribute meaningfully to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,’ Pillay says, ‘and the Nedbank Indalo Fund is another significant step towards delivering on those objectives through the development and support of an ecosystem of environment-friendly businesses and the empowerment of South Africa’s next generation of eco-entrepreneurs who will be catalysts for sustainable growth.’
The launch of the Nedbank Indalo Fund reinforces Nedbank’s position as a leader in advancing the green economy in South Africa, specifically through the empowerment of sustainable entrepreneurship. Through innovative partnerships, like the one it has with Indalo Inclusive, Nedbank is fostering a greener, more prosperous future by giving eco-inclusive businesses the financial support and development inputs they need to thrive and become drivers of economic growth, employment and shared prosperity.