An assessment of the Industrial Development Corporation's (IDC's) funding criteria for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa

M.B.A.The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) is a self-financing, state owned, national development finance institution that provides risk financing to entrepreneurs engaged in a multitude of industries. Its vision is to be the primary driving force of commercially sustainable industrial development in South Africa. International research has shown that the catalyst for promoting and sustaining industrial development in many countries is the contribution made by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). In South Africa, extensive research has shown that the growth of these enterprises is currently stifled by the lack of access to finance, mainly from commercial banks and private equity financiers, who have imposed onerous lending criteria on this market sector. The literature also reveals that alternative state and private sector financial institutions have been unable to fill this finance vacuum adequately. The IDC, as a national development finance institution, currently operates in the SME market by making loan finance available to these companies, provided that they meet its' extensive funding criteria. This dissertation examines the role the IDC is currently playing in the financing of SMEs by undertaking an assessment of the IDC's loan criteria. Recommendations based on the assessment are made with a view to improving the number of SMEs helped with financial assistance by the IDC