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The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) will step up its information campaign to encourage entrepreneurs to apply for available funding so that more jobs can be created this year.

The IDC is a development finance institution of the Economic Development Department. It is responsible for distributing government’s R10 billion Jobs Fund to deserving entrepreneurs.

So far, they have received only seven applications for funding from the Jobs Fund totalling R138 million. This could create around 750 jobs. The ideal is to create 40 000 to 50 000 jobs.

IDC Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey Qhena, said they were trying to address what was preventing entrepreneurs from applying for the funds.

“Ideally we can put in R2 billion every year, but there is no reason we can’t exceed that. If the uptake is such that we have to exceed one year and the other, we are not going to say now this year we have reached R2 billion. The whole point is to create jobs and the faster we create them the better,” he added.