Enterprising black entrepreneurs will get a R5.2-million boost from Shanduka Black Umbrellas (SBU), an investment company said on Tuesday.

The SBU programme provided office space, computers, internet, telephones, vehicles with drivers, a bookkeeping service and mentorship for a monthly fee of R1000, the Shanduka Group said in a statement on Tuesday.

Executive chairperson Cyril Ramaphosa said it would ultimately create jobs as SMMEs become more successful and employed more people.

The enterprises would benefit for three years before graduating as stand-alone businesses.

Once the SMMEs had signed their contracts, they were required to undergo training to help them identify what they needed to run more efficiently.

Research showed that fewer than 20 percent of those starting their own businesses survived past the first two years. The SBU said this was due to lack of support, high operational costs and a lack of access to credit.

Black Umbrellas was a project first conceived by social entrepreneurs Charles Maisel and Mark Frankel and, according to them, proved to be highly effective in supporting SMMEs in Cape Town. The model had been adopted by Shanduka Foundation with the intention of growing and eventually replicating it in different provinces.

Maisel said in the statement: "Our research has shown that if you are black and want to start a small business, there are plenty of obstacles and a lack of support from sceptical customers.

"SBU gives all the support and prescribes that all member SMMEs provide financial records of their business every month. That is the only way they will be taken seriously as business people."

The programme had been running since 2005.

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