A secured business loan in which the borrower pledges as collateral any assets used in the conduct of his/her business; also called commercial finance or asset-based lending. Lending is done against inventories as opposed to cash flow.

Bridging finance is a solution that is meant to provide financial assistance to small and medium entrepreneurs who have secured fixed contracts.

The economic empowerment of all black people including women, workers, youth, people with disabilities and people living in rural areas, through diverse but integrated socio-economic strategies, that include,

Fixed contract: A contract which is bound by completion of a project or a pre-determined time period.

A franchise is a grant by the franchisor to the franchisee, entitling the latter to the use of a complete business package containing all the elements (trade marks, trade dress, copyright, know-how, trade secrets, business concept, methodologies) necessary to establish a previously untrained person in the franchised business, to enable him or her t [..]

These comprise projects that are undertaken in an area where unoccupied land is developed as part of a new township; or that are undertaken in an existing township where an undeveloped parcel of land is utilised for development purposes.

South African citizens who are black people, women or people with disabilities and that black people are defined to include `Africans, Indians and Coloureds’

Key competencies: Skills or competencies, such as financial, technical and sales, considered essential for people to participate effectively in the workforce.

A small but potentially profitable market segment where custom-made products are designed for customers. Niche marketers are often reliant on the loyalty business model to maintain a profitable volume of sales.

The volume of sales, expressed as a percentage, achieved by one company in a specific geographic area, compared to all sales of similar products or of similar companies.