MultiChoice Group yesterday announced the establishment of the MultiChoice Innovation Fund. The JSE-listed company says the fund is an extension of its existing Enterprise Development Trust.
The fund, which is an extension of the broadcaster’s Enterprise Development Trust (EDT), will focus particularly on youth- and women-led businesses and aims to “address the gender gap and youth unemployment, as well as ensuring increased and sustained diversity and inclusion in the tech, media and film industries”, said CEO Calvo Mawela.
“The video entertainment industry – and indeed the world as we know it – is on a fascinating digital trajectory and we need to ensure we are ahead of the pack if the continent’s entertainment industry is going to continue to grow sustainably and be globally competitive,” Calvo said.
The sad part is that the Innovation Fund is exclusively for South African entrepreneurs, start-ups and businesses with a turnover of up to R50-million. There will be a specific focus on innovation in broadcast technology; innovative content; digital and Internet solutions; and business processing.
The MultiChoice Enterprise Development Trust was established in 2012 to help the group’s contribution to enterprise and supplier development within the ICT sector to be more focused and streamlined.
“By investing in and developing entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas, MultiChoice is helping to shape the industries of the future,” Mawela concludes.
