Interview with the IDC Regional Manager in NW Province

1. Brief background on the IDC

The Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Ltd (IDC) is a state-owned, self-financing, Development Finance Institution (DFI). It was established in 1940 to promote economic growth and industrial development in South Africa.

Its primary objectives are to contribute to the generation of balanced, sustainable economic growth in Africa and to the economic empowerment of the South African population, thereby promoting the economic prosperity of all citizens. The IDC achieves this by promoting entrepreneurship through the building of competitive industries and enterprises based on sound business principles.

The IDC operates in a broad spectrum of industries and with some specialized knowledge and experience; it is able to offer valid and appropriate financial assistance to a wide variety of individuals and companies.

2. What are the key objectives of the IDC?

  • To support industrial development capacity and
  • To promote entrepreneurship

The IDC employs the following strategies to achieve its objectives:

  • Serving as a catalyst for balanced, sustainable development;
  • Identifying and supporting opportunities not addressed by the market;
  • Providing risk capital in partnership with the private sector;
  • Building on its skills and industry knowledge to add value to entrepreneurs and businesses; and
  • Optimizing its financial management. 

3. How is IDC involved in the North West province?

As you would know regional and spatial inequality remains a challenge in South Africa. Most of the economic activity takes place in Gauteng, Western Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal with the rest of other provinces lagging behind.  The Economy of the province is by far not at a desired level and the presence of this office will ensure that specific attention is given to initiatives that promote the economy of the province.

To this end, the IDC has opened a fully fledged Provincial office in Rustenburg and satellite offices in Brits, Klerksdorp, Mafikeng and Vryburg. The aim is to provide a closer point of contact for our business partners and to identify and fund projects within the province.

IDC’s current exposure in the North West province is R2.1-billion. During the 2008 financial year, the value of approvals in the province exceeded R900-million, of which R800-million were to BEE companies. With this intervention, 7564 direct jobs will be created whilst a further 204 jobs were saved.
 
The IDC also supports various CSI initiatives in the province, which includes the Nguni cattle project and the Dinaledi Schools project. The office actively participates on the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGDS) working groups. Strategic alliances has been established with national and provincial agencies such as Seda, Khula, Invest North West and North West Development Corporation. The provincial office has also forged close ties with all major business forums in the province.

Going forward, we will focus on building manufacturing capacity in the province in line with the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) of the Government. By doing this, we will create sustainable jobs and develop new sustainable industries.

4. What, briefly, are the main objectives of the IDC office in the North West?

The roles of the Regional Manager and Office will, among others, be to develop strategies for the IDC to maximize impact in the province, act as liaison officer for provincial and local governments as well as with potential and existing clients, but most importantly, it will be to streamline the IDC’s processes and ensure greater customer service. The objectives and activities will also include to:

  • Coordinate, align and execute IDC’s regional strategies in the region;
  • Assist IDC with regional project development;
  • Provide clients with pre and post-investment business support and offer face to face interaction;
  • Assist IDC Strategic Business Units by providing pre and post approval support and providing feedback on developments and opportunities in the region.
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5. What are some of the IDC's biggest achievements of the last few years?

The IDC has certainly made some significant strides in the Province since opening its doors in 2008. IDC exposure grew from R1,4 billion (2008) to R2,1 billion (2010) and we have created over 10 000 direct jobs in the process. During the economic crises and the recession, IDC made funding available to companies in distress. The IDC has disbursed over R200 million to companies in distress in the North West and we have managed to save a significant amount of jobs.

Furthermore, we have approved a wholesale agricultural facility to Temo Agri services a division of Magalies Graan Korporasie (Brits) and Noord Wes Korporasie (Lichtenburg) to assist emerging black farmers with access to input finance.

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