The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) SME Rise programme has expanded its footprint into Gauteng and Limpopo, reinforcing the JSE’s commitment to driving inclusion and accelerating growth for small and medium enterprises. At the heart of this expansion is the Capital Matching initiative, a platform designed to connect high-growth SMEs with funders who can unlock their next stage of growth.
The Gauteng Capital Matching Day takes place on 28 November 2025 at the JSE, followed by the Limpopo Capital Matching on 3 December 2025 at the Fusion Boutique Hotel. Together, these events bring investment-ready small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from sectors including agriculture, ICT, manufacturing, energy, tourism, logistics and healthcare, into structured engagement with a curated network of funders and development finance partners, ensuring that both provinces are equally visible within the national SME funding ecosystem.
Now in its third year, the SME Rise Capital Matching Roadshow continues to expand nationally. In 2024, the programme matched 190 SMEs with funders, with R26.5 million in funding secured to date. Building on that traction, the 2025 edition has seen over 1000 applications received nationally, demonstrating strong appetite from SMEs across the country for structured routes to capital. The funder network has also grown from eight in 2024 to 11 in 2025, showing rising confidence in the programme’s ability to surface investable SME opportunities and support the flow of capital into the real economy.
“This year we are widening the net in a very intentional way. We are taking the Capital Matching Roadshow to new territories and expanding our focus into agriculture and agro-processing SMEs, because these businesses anchor livelihoods and local economies across the country. Our approach is practical and outcomes-driven – we help SMEs become funding-ready, put them in front of the right capital partners and support the follow-through so that strong leads convert into real investment. Talent and viable enterprise exist everywhere; our job is to make sure capital can find them,” said Cleola Kunene, Head: SME Development at the JSE.
The 2025 Roadshow is made possible through strong collaboration between the public and private sectors, with key stakeholders including the Gauteng Provincial Government, Limpopo Provincial Government, the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT), the Small Enterprise Development Finance Agency (SEDFA), Access Bank, Vodacom and Gauteng Propeller.
This collaboration model ensures alignment between provincial economic priorities and capital mobilisation, while also strengthening the support ecosystem around SMEs as they move from readiness to investment.