About Youth Enterprise Revolving Fund (YERF)

The Youth Enterprise Revolving Fund (YERF) is a Parastatal under the Ministry of Sports Culture & Youth Affairs established by the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini in 2009 in response to the vision of His Majesty King Mswati III. The company was established through legal notice No.179 of 2009. The main purpose of the Fund is to promote youth empowerment and alleviate poverty among young people between the ages of 18 to 35 years old.

Partnership with Limkokwing

The Fund (YERF) signed an MOU with the university of Limkokwing. The Minister of Sports Culture & Youth Affairs launched the partnership. The partnership is aimed at capacitating the University’s entrepreneurship students to prepare finance-ready business proposals to be then able to access funding from the Youth Fund.

Comments by Attendees

Minister Bulunga: “The Fund has so far not run out of funding to finance youth-owned businesses since there is still not enough business proposals worth funding being submitted by the youth. This partnership with Limkokwing University allows us to upscale our growing response initiatives to this challenge.

Minister Bulunga: “We remain committed to making the Youth Fund sustainable, effective and adequately responsive to the needs of our young people.”

YERF CEO Bhekizwe Maziya: “The partnership of the Fund with Limkokwing is focusing on training the would-be applicants on entrepreneurship while they are still at the University in preparing them for funding by YERF. The University will also provide mentorship services to funded beneficiaries under this program to ensure their success & sustainability.

YERF CEO Bhekizwe Maziya: “This partnership together with the first one signed with UNESWA in September 2021 will help improve the training programs by the universities to ensure that the graduates they produce have what it takes to access funding, not only from YERF but from any financial institution.”

Limkokwing University Director Tfobile Gumede: “This partnership strengthens an entrepreneurship programme that already exists within the institution. Our vision is to truly accelerate entrepreneurship