J.P. Morgan is pleased to announce the launch of the J.P. Morgan Abadali Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (EEIP) with the approval of the South African Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic).
Abadali translates to “Creators” in isiXhosa and isiZulu (Two of the 11 official languages in South Africa).
The Abadali EEIP intends to create a positive economic and social impact in South Africa by addressing a critical funding gap for majority black owned and controlled enterprises. These businesses have historically found it challenging to access capital to finance growth.
The Abadali EEIP initiative consists of two programmes
The Abadali Fund will be created by the extension of R300 million in funding by J.P. Morgan over the next eight years. These funds will be used to extend debt financing on flexible terms to selected, eligible black enterprises that do not fit the traditional underwriting criteria of “general commercial banking requirements”. The Fund will focus on supporting enterprises operating in mainly the Industrial and Green Economy sectors of the South African economy. Beneficiaries will also be able to participate in the “Business Development Support Model” process, a business support model to ensure job creation, growth and development over the eight-year period.
J.P. Morgan aims to support +500 early-stage businesses and to stimulate the creation of at least 1 000 net permanent jobs over the eight years.
The Abadali Grant will extend R40 million in grants to majority black owned and controlled enterprises and will be internally managed by J.P. Morgan and delivered through J.P. Morgan strategic partners over the eight-year period.
Masakhe Partners (RF) (Pty) Ltd (“Masakhe”), the appointed administrator of the J.P. Morgan Abadali Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (“Abadali Fund”), managed by Edge Growth Ventures (Pty) Ltd, is pleased to announce that:
Both Linda and Grace have extensive experience and knowledge and they will provide critical direction and leadership in realising the key objectives of the Abadali Fund (as approved by the South African Department of Trade, Industry and Competition), including the creation of a positive economic and social impact in South Africa through the provision of catalytic funding and business development support for majority Black-owned Small and Medium sized Enterprises.
Linda and Grace replace Ms. Thandeka Zondi on the board of directors and investment committee of Masakhe, following the completion of Thandeka’s tenure, with effect from 4 July 2025. We would like to thank Thandeka for her valuable contribution and commitment to the Abadali Fund.
We welcome Linda and Grace and look forward to working them.
The Abadali Fund will focus on beneficiaries with the following minimum attributes:
The Abadali EEIP is expected to help catalyse small business growth and entrepreneurship in South Africa by directly addressing major to business failure, namely the lack of business support, including financial support, and the inability to raise funds.
The key objectives of the Abadali EEIP are to:
The Abadali Fund will mainly focus on black enterprises in the industrial and green economy sectors but will also cover enterprises operating in the financial services, educational, healthcare within South Africa.
Industrial
Manufacturing or service businesses providing engineering, logistics, construction, petrochemical, agriculture processing, Information Technology, manufacturing or maintenance services. This includes any business consulting to and in value chains of these sectors.
Green economy
Provision of goods and services with the aim of reducing environmental risks
Financial services
Asset management, financial intermediaries, insurance, brokers, financial technology, financial inclusion
Education
Provision of goods and services to educational facilities, schools, colleges, universities, and business with the purpose of providing a form of education to members of the public and related education technology services/products
Healthcare
Provision of goods and services to treat patients with curative, preventative, rehabilitative and palliative care and related healthcare technology services/products
Digital inclusion
Provision of goods and services that use technology to improve the lives or livelihoods of low to middle income people
The Abadali Fund will be administered by Masakhe Partners, with Edge Growth Ventures as the fund manager and ProfitShare Partners as a short-term capital solutions partner, both of which are majority black owned and controlled.
J.P. Morgan will provide governance oversight and will be ultimately responsible for the achievement of the objectives of the Abadali EEIP.
Edge Growth is an impact-driven business, specialising in growing small businesses and offering end-to-end solutions. Impact is achieved by addressing growth constraints, including access to finance, market and skills.
Edge Growth delivers impact through three business units:
EDGE GROWTH VENTURES: SME fund management
EDGE GROWTH ACCESS: Corporate supplier development programmes
EDGE GROWTH ACCELERATE: High growth scale-up support
For further information go to https://edgegrowth.com/
ProfitShare Partners is a disruptive FinTech company that provides short-term capital solutions and transaction support to SMEs without access to finance, security, financials or a track record, but with a valid contract or purchase order with a reputable, large corporate or government department.
PSP allows for responses to applications within 24 hours, generating a term sheet within 48 hours and paying out within seven days for new clients, and even faster for existing clients. PSP partners with SMEs on a specific transaction and shares in the profit of that transaction. This is a high-impact growth tool for SMEs, which enables rapid growth without giving away equity. Applications are now open, however payments will only be made from the 1st of September 2021.
For further information go to https://profitsharepartners.com/
Kevin Latter
JPMorgan Core Member
Andre Ross
JPMorgan Core Member
Njabulo Ngubane
JPMorgan Core Member
Thembeka Mgoduso
JPMorgan Core Member
Ming Allen
JPMorgan Core Member
Ronelle Reddy
JPMorgan Core Member
Portia Twala
JPMorgan Core Member
Louise Campbell
JPMorgan Core Member
Tebello Sema
JPMorgan Core Member
Linda Mabhena-Olagunju
Independent non-executive director and chairperson of the board of directors of Masakhe
Khomotso Grace Legodi
Independent non-executive director of Masakhe Board and the Chairperson of the Investment Committee of Masakhe Board