Social entrepreneurs genuinely benefit from mentoring and coaching by more experienced entrepreneurs who have already secured funding successfully, and that gap matters, since a large share of social entrepreneurs bring less than five years of relevant experience into their ventures.
To make it easier to find the right support, here is a current list of organisations that fund and back social enterprises in South Africa. Funding for social enterprises generally falls into a few categories: grant funding, debt funding, quasi-equity funding, and equity funding, each suited to a different stage and type of enterprise.
Here are several organisations currently offering funding and business support to social entrepreneurs.
Barloworld Mbewu
This flagship programme supports startup and established social enterprises, organisations and institutions solving local challenges through good business practice, active in sectors including education, industrial technology, agro-processing, agriculture, the green economy and social innovation. Applicants must have been operating for at least a year and be run by South Africans, preferably active in previously disadvantaged communities.
SAB Foundation’s Tholoana Enterprise Programme
This 18-month business support programme helps entrepreneurs across all business sectors build successful, resilient businesses through skills development, mentorship, and access to markets, finance and practical business tools. Applicants must be South African citizens, majority shareholders working full-time in the business, with the business at least 51% Black-owned and managed, and trading consistently for at least two years. Up to 60 new entrepreneurs are selected annually.
Bridges for Enterprise
This free incubation programme supports early-stage social enterprises globally, including South Africa, with tailored advisory, strategic guidance and operational strengthening over three to eight months. It suits pre-seed and seed-stage ventures preparing for investment, with applications accepted for an Autumn cohort (1 April deadline) and a Spring cohort (1 October deadline).
Innovation Edge
Innovation Edge is an impact-first investor focused specifically on early childhood development challenges in South Africa. It supports mission-aligned entrepreneurs and social innovators by de-risking early-stage product and service development, providing multiple funding rounds, strategic coaching, operational support and connections to social capital.
SAB Foundation Social Innovation and Disability Empowerment Awards
This annual competition is open to social entrepreneurs and social enterprises whose products, services or business models address real barriers facing women, youth, rural communities and people with disabilities. Funding ranges from R300,000 to R1.3 million, alongside mentorship and business development support. Applicants must show their innovation has moved beyond the idea stage into active development, testing or implementation. Since 2015, the programme has invested more than R88 million across over 200 innovators.
LEAD Impact Capital
Co-founded by Impact Amplifier, LEAD Impact Capital combines capital with acceleration support to scale social innovations across Africa, working from the view that private-sector social enterprises hold the greatest potential for solving systemic inequalities long-term. Its Inclusive Housing Fund, run in partnership with Novo Impact Fund and Oppenheimer Generations, has R40 million earmarked specifically for innovations tackling backyard dwellings in South African townships.
The Bridge International
This online crowdfunding platform channels seed funding to social entrepreneurs across Asia and Africa, helping local entrepreneurs build self-reliant, financially sustainable operations while creating genuine social impact in their communities. It also connects funded entrepreneurs to global investors and broader marketing opportunities.
Frequently asked questions
What types of funding exist for social enterprises in South Africa?
Grant funding, debt funding, quasi-equity funding and equity funding, each suited to a different stage of business, with grants generally best for early-stage ventures and equity funding for those ready to scale.
Do I need prior business experience to access social enterprise funding?
Not necessarily. Many of these programmes exist precisely because most social entrepreneurs bring under five years of relevant experience, mentorship and coaching are built into most of them for that reason.
Which programme suits an early-stage social enterprise still refining its model?
Bridges for Enterprise is specifically designed for pre-seed and seed-stage ventures, offering free advisory support rather than capital, which suits a business still finding product-market fit.
Are these funding programmes only for South African-based enterprises?
Most are focused on South Africa specifically, Barloworld Mbewu and the SAB Foundation programmes among them, though Bridges for Enterprise and The Bridge International both operate more broadly across Africa and beyond.
How much funding can a social enterprise realistically access through these routes?
It varies considerably, from advisory-only support with no capital attached, to SAB Foundation awards of R300,000 to R1.3 million, to LEAD Impact Capital’s R40 million housing-specific fund, match the scale of funding to your business’s actual stage and need.
Finding the right fit
Match your enterprise’s sector, stage and funding need against the specific focus of each organisation above rather than applying broadly, and confirm current application windows directly on each funder’s site before committing time to an application.
Originally published in March 2022. Updated September 2026 to remove concluded programmes and reflect the funders currently open to South African social enterprises. Application windows and funding amounts change, so confirm current details directly with each organisation before applying.
