The Masisizane Fund is a non-profit funding entity established by Old Mutual to provide enterprise development to small and medium enterprises through two channels, development finance and business support. The name means let us help each other. The details below come from the fund own loan application form, published on the Old Mutual site.
Masisizane Fund contact details
- Telephone: 011 779 9400
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: masisizane.co.za
- Physical address: 8th Floor, B Block, No. 1 Mutual Place, 107 Rivonia Road, Sandown, Sandton
- Postal address: Masisizane Fund, PO Box 784531, Sandton, 2146
The enquiries mailbox is a departmental address rather than a named individual, so it survives staff changes. Put your business name and the sector in the subject line.
It is a lender, not a grant
This matters more than anything else on the page. Masisizane provides development finance, which means the money is lent and has to be repaid, on terms and with security requirements. It is not a grant and it is not free money. Read the loan agreement and understand the repayment obligation and what happens on default before you sign, and be sceptical of anyone describing it to you as a grant.
What an application needs
- A completed application form, downloaded from the Old Mutual or Masisizane site rather than from a third party
- Company registration documents, tax clearance and audited or reviewed financial statements
- A business plan with realistic cash flow projections, not aspirational ones
- Evidence of the market: contracts, offtake agreements or purchase orders carry more weight than forecasts
The fund targets black-owned businesses and prioritises women, youth and people with disabilities, so ownership and shareholding documents matter as much as the financials.
Nobody legitimate charges you to apply
SMME funding is one of the most heavily impersonated areas in South Africa, because applicants are often under financial pressure and unfamiliar with the process. There is no application fee, no facilitation fee and no fee to have a form submitted or fast-tracked. Anyone offering to secure Masisizane funding for a payment, or asking for a percentage upfront, is running a scam. Verify any approach on 011 779 9400 or [email protected] before paying anything or sending company documents.
If your application is not progressing
- Follow up in writing through the enquiries mailbox, quoting the application reference and the date submitted
- Ask what stage it is at and what is outstanding, and get the answer in writing
- If the fund is not the right fit, the Small Enterprise Development Agency and the National Empowerment Fund are separate public routes worth approaching directly