Bay hawkers set example

More loans due to good repayment ethic

IMPRESSIVE loan repayment rates by hawkers in Nelson Mandela Bay have led the Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency to nearly triple its loan allocation to non-agricultural projects to cater for entrepreneurs in the region.

Announcing its annual results this week, the agency – which boasted solid results and a third consecutive unqualified audit – said it would increase the value of its non-agricultural loan allocations because of the Bay, which accounted for only a 1.1% slice of its 2014-15 pie.

In the period under review, R1.3-million worth of loans was allocated to 11 qualifying enterprises in the province, with the bulk coming from the Bay.

Bay lenders who borrow from the non-agricultural loan allocation are mostly arts and crafts makers and hawkers who use the money to buy fruit and vegetables to sell on the city’s streets.