The Ministry of Entrepreneurship (MoE) has urged individuals to use recognised stakeholders for the Chema Chema Fund, cautioning loan applicants against turning to unauthorised service providers.
Ahead of the Chema Chema Fund launch, opportunists had already begun marketing campaigns to attract interested loan applicants, offering aid with the process. However, the ministry is warning Chema Chema hopefuls to be wary of service providers claiming to aid individuals in the loan application process for the fund.
The ministry has noted with concern "the significant number of individuals offering unauthorised services claiming to assist and advise business owners". The ministry further urged applicants to refrain from dealing with unauthorised service providers and instead engage with recognised stakeholders.
"As we implement the Chema Chema Fund post the lively and successful launch of its enabling guidelines on Friday, we wish to advise the public to take note and deal with the appropriate authorities for this informal sector service," stated MoE Chief Public Relations Officer Fenny Letshwiti in a statement.
The ministry emphasised that individuals in the informal sector should only engage with the Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) and the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA), as only these two entities have been entrusted with the implementation of Chema Chema.
LEA will handle the process of registering and training all eligible citizens, while CEDA will disburse funds after assessing the applications. Letshwiti highlighted that individuals should engage with these two agencies because no other entity has been authorised to manage the fund.
"No other individual or company has the authority or legitimate basis to claim to offer administrative or other such training services, including consultations, to manage the guidelines or disbursement process," Letshwiti stated.
The statement also declared that Chema Chema does not have an official social media page and urged the public to report any individuals claiming to be consultants for the programme.
