Tuesday 3 November 2026 · Updated 20:25
EXPLAINERNation Watch Explains

Spaza fund, TREP, TEPF or Township Enterprise Fund? What Vaal businesses need to know

Four funds for township businesses have similar names and different rules. Here is who runs each one, who it is for, where it stands as at 3 November 2026, and which suits which Vaal business.

By Staff Reporter · Published

A red Tuck Shop sign beside a fenced gate topped with razor wire and crates
File photo: a tuck shop in Soweto, Johannesburg, Gauteng (2012). Illustrative. Photo: Kandukuru Nagarjun / Flickr, CC BY 2.0.

As at 3 November 2026.

Why it matters
  • The names are easy to confuse. The national Spaza Shop Support Fund, Sedfa’s TREP and Gauteng’s township funds are separate, with different rules.
  • TREP has just been relaunched. It was relaunched on 27 October 2026, with funding of up to R3m per business, for all sectors.1,2
  • Not every fund is open. Gauteng’s Township Enterprise Fund sits under an Act that LawLibrary marks “not commenced”.3

Which fund is which?

On 15 November 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced “a joint fund of R500 million … to support township and rural businesses, including community convenience shops”.4 The fund was launched in 2025 as the Spaza Shop Support Fund.5 It is backed by the national Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic).6

Do not confuse it with these:

Fund Who runs it Who it’s for Status (as at 3 Nov 2026)
Spaza Shop Support Fund DSBD and the dtic, through Sedfa and the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) Spaza shops and other food-handling outlets in townships and rural areas, nationwide5,7 No closing date published; first come, first served7
Township and Rural Entrepreneurship Programme (TREP) DSBD and Sedfa Township and rural micro, small and medium businesses and co-operatives, in all sectors Relaunched on 27 October 2026, with funding of up to R3m per business; apply through Sedfa at sedfa.org.za/trep.html1,2
Township Economy Partnership Fund (TEPF) Gauteng Department of Economic Development, Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP) and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) Gauteng township SMMEs and informal traders. Loans or loan-grant blends of up to R10m Opened in 2022 with R450m. GEP’s page still lists it, but we could not confirm whether money remains8,9
Township Enterprise Fund (Gauteng) To sit inside GEP under the Gauteng Township Economic Development Act, 2022 Gauteng township businesses LawLibrary marks the Act “not commenced”3. The Democratic Alliance (DA) said in June 2026 that the Act was still being amended10

Sedfa is the Small Enterprise Development Finance Agency, the state’s small business agency under DSBD. GEP is the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller.

Which suits which business?

  • If you run a spaza in a township or rural area, the Spaza Shop Support Fund offers up to R100,000 a shop in stock, upgrades and training.11,6 Our separate explainers cover what you can get, who qualifies and how to apply.
  • If you are not a spaza, for example a car wash, bakery, salon, tshisanyama or workshop, look at TREP through Sedfa1, or at Gauteng’s GEP funding. GEP’s Sedibeng regional office is at 36 Merriman Avenue, Vereeniging, tel 016 910 1200.12
  • The nearest Sedfa office listed is in Sasolburg. Sedfa’s office list shows no office in Sedibeng; the nearest is the Sasolburg/Metsimaholo branch, Eric Louw Street, Boiketlong Hall, Zamdela, tel 016 974 5500.13
What We Know / What We Don’t

What we know

  • TREP was relaunched on 27 October 2026, with funding of up to R3m per business, in all sectors.1,2

What we don’t know

  • Whether money remains in the TEPF. GEP’s page still lists it.9
  • When the Gauteng Township Economic Development Act, and with it the Township Enterprise Fund, will take effect.3,10

Read more

Sources
  1. TREP – Township and Rural Entrepreneurship Programme, Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency (enhanced programme; up to R3m; open to all sectors)
  2. TReP relaunch raises funding ceiling to R3 million…, Community Newsroom (28 Oct 2026; relaunch at Seshego Stadium, Polokwane, on 27 October 2026)
  3. Gauteng Township Economic Development Act 2 of 2022 (Chapter 5, Township Enterprise Fund; marked “not commenced”), LawLibrary
  4. Spaza shops implicated in child deaths to be shut down, SAnews (15 Nov 2024)
  5. How to apply for Spaza Shop funding: A step-by-step guide, SAnews (23 July 2026)
  6. Spaza Shop Support Fund official website, Spaza Shop Support Fund
  7. Written reply NW5038: criteria and process, Parliamentary Monitoring Group (16 Oct 2026)
  8. How to play in the township economy, Vuk’uzenzele (April 2022)
  9. Township Economy Partnership Fund, Gauteng Enterprise Propeller
  10. Lesufi’s government’s delay in implementing Township Economic Development Act affects jobs, DA Gauteng (8 June 2026)
  11. Spaza Shop Support Fund information sheet, National Empowerment Fund (May 2025)
  12. Contact us, Gauteng Enterprise Propeller
  13. Sedfa offices, Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency (checked 3 November 2026)

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