DAVIES LAUNCHES A R100 MILLION GOLD LOAN SCHEME TO SUPPORT JEWELLERY MANUFACTURERS

DAVIES LAUNCHES A R100 MILLION GOLD LOAN SCHEME TO SUPPORT JEWELLERY MANUFACTURERS

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies launched a R100 million Gold Loan Scheme to assist emerging and established gold jewellery manufacturers with their working capital loans and needs in Sandton Tuesday 30 September 2014.

The working capital loans under the scheme provided at a fixed interest rate of 3% per annum.

Addressing stakeholders at the launch, Minister Davies said the scheme originally identified in the Industrial Policy Action Plan to provide a facility production for gold manufacturers to access favourable loans and terms used in the jewellery production.

Davies said the intervention of R100 million will allow South African jewellers to grow, and be able to supply local retail sector and the export markets.

“The latest figures indicate that there are about 1000 jewellery manufacturers left in the country and that production is down to 3500 kilograms per annum from 7500 kilograms in 2004,” said Davies.

Davies also said the jewellery sector experienced imports exceeding R1 billion in 2013 while exports were sitting at R467 million in the same year. This is a contrast from imports of R280 million and exports of R466 million recorded in 2004. The Gold Loan Scheme will assist local manufacturers recapture a big local market which currently served by imported products as well as increasing exports to destinations such as the United States of America where our jewellery can enter duty-free under AGOA and other markets.  

“The new scheme is one of the many programmes that are used as interventions to support and grow the jewellery sector. the dti through numerous schemes has provided support to more than 60 emerging and established jewellery manufacturers in a number of global exhibitions and will continue to provide such support,” added Davies.

The Divisional Executive for Corporate Strategy at the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), Mr Shakeel Meer said manufacturing challenges need a holistic approach and programmes to address them.

“Working together with the manufacturing sector and identifying challenges that they have to deal with on a daily basis provided valuable input in the development of the Gold Loan Scheme,” said Meer.

Meer urged entrepreneurs to make use of the scheme and move the sector forward.

Application for the Gold Loan Scheme funding be done online or submitted to the IDC offices.