15 May 2020

In an effort to stimulate the informal businesse that have been affected by COVID-19 outbreak, Citizen Empowerment Development Agency (CEDA), through its Emergency Response Fund, has introduced an initiative called Letlhabile.

Addressing the media on May 15, CEDA CEO Mr Thabo Thamane said Letlhabile focused specifically on uplifting the informal sector, which relied on an active formal sector and the movement of the public members.

He said its mobility had been affected by extreme social distancing to control the spread of the coronavirus.

Letlhabile programme will run for six months, effective from May 15 till November.

Mr Thamane revealed that the programme targeted individuals who predominantly sustained their livelihood through business activities at the micro and informal sector level.

He added that the programme would focus on supporting businesses in the informal and micro enterprise sector that were in existence and trading prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically prior to February 29.

“Letlhabile will provide loans from P500 up to P10 000 and applicants can apply at all CEDA branches nationwide and can submit to any post office as BotswanaPost will be acting as an intermediary to receive applications and submit to CEDA,” he said. ENDS