MultiChoice Innovation Fund
Enterprise and Supplier Development
The MultiChoice Innovation Fund helps to fast-track entrepreneurs into industry leaders by assisting them to unlock opportunities and create new jobs through funding and continuous business support.
Impact over the past year
New Black-owned SMMEs
new businesses supported
new jobs supported
disbursed to beneficiaries
Enterprise and supplier development support spend
new companies funded in tech-enabled sectors
Impact to date
estimated support spend on beneficiaries (8% of disbursed to beneficiaries)
Black-owned SMMEs created since inception (All our beneficiaries/ SMMEs are black-owned)
disbursed to beneficiaries
New female Black-owned SMMEs
Permanent jobs created (at a 2.5 factor at any given point independent workers and freelances are engaged)
MultiChoice’s Innovation Fund launched its MultiChoice Accelerator in 2021. This programme accelerates South African start-ups by providing the tools, skills and financial support to breathe life into their unique and exciting business ideas.
distributed through the MultiChoice Innovation Fund in loans, grants and business development expenses to date
jobs created by beneficiaries who received funding in the past year
In funding secured from global investors secured by our Accelerator finalists
The Accelerator’s initial focus was on preparing selected South African entrepreneurial initiatives and start-ups to scale up their businesses for unlocking commercial opportunities at the Expo 2020 recently held in Dubai. Expo 2020, which was delayed by Covid-19 and commenced in October 2021, enabled almost 200 countries to display their offerings to the world, while networking, attracting investments, and solidifying relationships and future partnerships. South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic), together with MultiChoice as its official broadcast partner, set out to publicise the diverse economic value that South Africa has to offer.
South Africa’s six-month participation closed out with a national ceremony hosted by the Honourable President Cyril Ramaphosa, followed by a high-level panel discussion on the successes of Team SA’s participation – most notably the MultiChoice Accelerator Programme.
After reviewing 168 applications, the MultiChoice Accelerator had selected 20 South African start-ups for further training and assessment, in collaboration with Dubai-based incubator C3, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) based social enterprise, the dtic and Expo Live, an innovation impact grant programme. These 20 start-ups underwent an intensive learning journey that introduced them to tools, processes, coaching, resources and potential investors. Finally, six of these start-ups were shortlisted to showcase their solutions at Expo 2020 Dubai.
During this time frame, MultiChoice produced an innovative television series called My StartUp Accelerated, which provided wide coverage of the 20 selected businesses through Newzroom Afrika.
MultiChoice’s involvement as Team South Africa’s official broadcaster at the 2020 Dubai Expo was equally well received.
Speaking at the Accelerator Programme Roundtable at the conclusion of Dubai 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa, addressed the entrepreneurs saying: "You are truly trailblazers, and are flying our flag high here at Dubai Expo 2020… The MultiChoice Accelerator complements government’s efforts to harness the power of the digital economy and the 4IR… This programme is an inspiration. It is our wish and expectation that it is expanded, so we see more platforms, applications and startups mushrooming back home.".