Advancing South Africa's Just Energy Transition by Accelerating the Growth of Green Economy SMMEs
2025
South Africa, with the highest level of emissions per unit of GDP among major economies, faces the dual challenge of unemployment exceeding 40% and deepening social inequality, challenges tied to its reliance on carbon-intensive industries. Against this backdrop, a Just Energy Transition (JET) has become a national priority for the South African government
Achieving the ambitious targets set by South Africa in the Paris Agreement will require large-scale transformation of the energy sector, coupled with strategic investments towards vulnerable communities and high-risk regions.
Accelerating the growth of small, medium, and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) represent a critical lever in this transition: stimulating investment into these businesses can generate an increase in employment nearly three times higher than larger businesses1, positioning them as key drivers of a resilient, inclusive, and green economy.
Environmental
£70.5Bn
green investment committed to funding SA’s transition
Economic
40%
of SA GDP is driven by SMMEs
The Growth Gateway intervention accelerated the development of JET-aligned SMMEs in South Africa by sourcing early-stage enterprises and connecting them with investors to stimulate deal flow. For a select group of high-potential SMMEs, the intervention offered tailored support to enhance investment readiness and strengthen credibility. The intervention contributed to building a more resilient and inclusive investment ecosystem by supporting two ecosystem players focused on funding and broader enabling underserved SMMEs.
Support Provided
SMME Deal Acceleration
Through collaboration with local government, investors, incubators, and targeted outreach – including on-the-ground visits in Mpumalanga and newspaper advertising, a database of over 550 SMMEs was developed. Investment-ready and JET-aligned SMMEs were matched with suitable investors to catalyse engagement & commercial discussions. This resulted in:
- 180+ JET-aligned SMMEs
- 60+ investment ready SMMEs
- 100+ commercial discussions facilitated with investors
Targeted SMME Support
Then, the initiative provided tailored support to select SMMEs operating within the green economy. This support included the development of investor-grade pitch decks, market research, and leadership coaching from global experts to navigate investor engagements – types of support that are rarely accessible to such businesses. Commercial discussions and due diligences followed from the support to the SMMEs:
- Commercial discussions for 50% of supported SMMEs
- Follow-on due diligences for 80% of supported SMMEs
Funder Ecosystem Development
Finally, driving sustainable green investment requires a diverse network of investors, including funders, incubators and accelerators, corporates, philanthropists, private equity firms etc. This network plays a critical role in supporting investment-ready SMMEs, enabling pipeline activation at scale, and ultimately driving sector transformation. Accordingly, this initiative contributed to:
- Supporting the JET-PMU – established under the South African Presidency – to further operationalise a funding platform that connects JET-aligned projects with grant funding and technical assistance
- Assisting an innovative fintech, ProfitShare Partners, to raise funding that will enable the provision of working capital finance to SMMEs in Mpumalanga.
These efforts aim to build a stronger bridge between capital and climate-aligned enterprises – positioning South African SMMEs to attract critical investment.
Impact Achieved
> R4.5 Bn
worth of deals under discussion between SMMEs and investors
12+
high-potential SMMEs received targeted support
> 100
investors selected to be part of the funder database
