According to an announcement by Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel, over R100 billion will be put into the economy over the next five years in an effort to build business to reach a target of creating 5 million new jobs by the year 2020.

Patel admits that the goal for the jobs will be tough to make, but he did outline where the money would come from.

He said that in the next five years, he planned to raise R102 billion through the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) in the form of new loans at discounted interest rates. Most of the jobs would come from the private sector, but the government would help by providing other resources like infrastructure.

“This year we will start with relatively modest gains and ramp them up every year over the decade”, said Patel as he outlined the new plan.

Funds from the R102 billion will be allocated across different industries in the market as a whole, including: green, mining, manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, venture capital, high-impact projects, and funds for companies in financial distress.

The amount is equivalent to a 160% increase in the value of investments the IDC has approved over the past 5 years.