The Action ESD Fund was established in 2011 and is Edge Growth’s in-house enterprise and supplier development fund, providing effective ESD solutions, maximizing socio-economic impact through responsible investment and ensuring B-BBEE code compliance.
Our funding is tailored to individual entrepreneurs and comes with support mechanisms, such as specialised mentorship and access to markets through corporate supply chains, propelling entrepreneurs to next level growth and scalability.
Read our ACTION ESD FUND REPORT for end of FY25 here.
To apply for funding for your small business:
Be seeking funding of between R1m and R10m (or more on an exception basis)
Be deemed to have strong growth potential
Be revenue-generating
Show potential for good job creation and social impact
Be at least 51% black-owned
Have a strong experienced team and a proven track record of implementing growth in the business
If this sounds like a fit for you, click here to apply for funding
Edge Action knows that ESD can be a complicated terrain to navigate, but compliance requirements should not be ignored. Good corporate citizenship should be high on the agenda for any South African business, making Edge Action a responsible solution for ESD.
With more than 10 years in the field, we understand how to cater to the needs of the corporate as well as the entrepreneur. Over that time, we’ve delivered tangible results to entrepreneurs across South Africa and have partnered with enterprises across all sectors.
These are just a few of them (past and present):
Our funding, coupled with practical business growth strategies and operational plans, is tailored to the individual entrepreneur. This ensures that through various support mechanisms, such as post funding, specialised mentorship, and access to markets through corporate supply chains, we propel entrepreneurs to the next level of growth and scalability. The right SMEs, paired with the right investors, and with the continuous support of experienced business growth professionals through the Edge Action fund, are afforded the opportunities and resources they need to grow and thrive.
The SMEs selected to be a part of the Edge Action portfolio have shown themselves to be of outstanding quality, capable of the kind of growth potential needed to make a genuine socio-economic impact within their communities. Here are some of the success stories we’ve helped create:
Eagle Towers is an independent, 100% black owned telecommunications infrastructure provider, responsible for building, installing and operating communications towers that connect large networks to local communities who depend on their services.
Through Edge Action, Eagle Tower secured a funding injection of R30 million, allowing them to build five additional towers and bring their services into Gauteng and Mpumalanga. This expansion has allowed Eagle Towers to remain competitive and take on larger suppliers in the cellular tower space, while providing employment opportunities and encouraging skills development in South Africa’s growing ICT sector while at the same time establishing themselves as the first 100% black owned telecommunications provider in SA
By providing alternate disposal channels for recyclable waste, New Earth Recycling helps businesses be environmentally friendly and compliant, by reducing the waste that ends up in landfill sites.
The funding and guidance secured from Edge Action helped New Earth Recycling to improve their capacity as demand for their services began to accelerate. Able to collect more waste at a time, New Earth Recycling was also able to contribute to its own sustainability through job creation and skills transfer within the company. The business is now at a more advanced level of production, and continues to grow. Revenues have increased since the start of investment, and is set to grow even more in the coming years.
Living Hope aims to strengthen the agricultural sector and food security in South Africa by providing training in agriculture, providing work opportunities, and alleviating poverty through industry-specific training programmes.
Edge Action has invested in Living Hope’s Agricultural and Business Training Division, helping to spread skills and knowledge in tunnel farming techniques. In 2016, four students graduated from the programme with Edge Action’s help, and will soon be provided with their own tunnels to begin their own entrepreneurial journeys.
A recycling company that specialises in the recovery, sorting and processing of recyclable household materials, Mpilenhle Recycling is committed to reducing the amounts of plastic and paper waste in KwaZulu Natal, while also assisting scrap dealers in the area to make a living through eco-friendly practices.
The Edge Action fund helped provide Mpilenhle Recycling with a 4-ton truck to increase their carrying capacity and improve customer confidence in their business. Through a second round of funding from Action, Mpilenhle was able to purchase detachable cages to increase the volume of recyclable commodities while at the same time decreasing costs. They have managed to expand operations to Hammanskraal while at the same time establishing various buy back centers in neighbouring townships. They are now able to move 116 tons of waste every month, and have added four new jobs to their operations, helping create employment in the communities of the greater Newcastle municipality.
DSES Project Solutions specialise in mechanical & piping, tank manufacture, structural steelwork fabrication and erection and project construction management from concept stage to commissioning and optimisation, specifically in the petrochemical, agro-chemical and engineering industries. They are 100% black owned, and 50% black women owned and was formed in 2008.
They were battling to win petrochemical industry tenders before being invited to join Engen’s Supplier Development Programme and receiving investment from the Edge Action Fund. DSES used the funds to purchase equipment, cutting leasing costs and freeing up finance for strategic expansion. Edge Action assisted with capacity building, mentoring and skills development and finance function intervention. DSES has seen a significant revenue growth in just two years, has proven themselves to Engen with a quality service offering and their staff complement has doubled.
MUKS Logistics (Pty)Ltd is a 100% black owned QSE specialising in heavy vehicle maintenance and was founded in 2016. MUKS primarily serves clients with large fleets in the FMCG sector, offering maintenance, trailer refurbishment and repairs on a national basis for major clients such as CCBSA.
After growing astronomically, in terms of both their top line and bottom line and building a solid reputation with clients, their business model required immense working capital, so the Edge Action Fund provided sustainable financial support through a term loan with working capital facility. The working capital injection created several new jobs, enabled expansion of their client base and ensured preservation of the quality of services rendered as well as further growth.