Manufacturing companies can apply for incentives in five areas:
Capital investment (for upgrades and expansions).
Green technology and resource efficiency improvement.
Enterprise-level competitiveness improvement (for new or increased market access, as well as product and process improvement, including related skills development).
Feasibility studies.
Cluster competitiveness improvement.
Capital investment
This incentive provides support to manufacturers that invest capital to upgrade equipment and undertake expansions, with the aim of assisting in job retention and creation.
It offers a cost-sharing grant of between 30 percent and 50 percent of the investment, up to a maximum of R50m.
Green technology and resource efficiency improvement
This incentive provides support to manufacturers investing in green technology upgrades that will lead to cleaner production.
It offers a cost-sharing grant of between 30 percent and 50 percent of the investment, up to a maximum of R50m.
To be considered for this incentive, applicants must submit an audit or assessment report from an accredited service provider, such as the National Cleaner Production Centre, on the nature of its clean production, green technology and energy efficiency interventions. This report may not be older than 18 months when the application is submitted.
Enterprise-level competitiveness improvement
This production incentive helps companies invest in improved conformity assessments, create better processes and products, and develop relevant skills through the use of business development services.
The incentive offers a cost-sharing grant of between 50 percent and 70 percent of the investment, limited to the total amount of the applicant's manufacturing value-add.
Feasibility studies
This production incentive supports feasibility studies that are likely to lead to bankable business and project plans. These projects should result in investment in new components, products or processes that are not currently manufactured or performed by the applicant. The proposed investment project that results from a feasibility study should have a minimum value of R30m.
This incentive offers a cost-sharing grant of 50 percent or 70 percent of the cost of the feasibility study, payable according to expected milestones:
Projects that already receive government incentives for feasibility studies do not qualify for the MCEP feasibility grant.
Cluster competitiveness improvement
This production incentive provides financial assistance to clusters of enterprises that want to undertake collaborative efforts related to production and marketing.
The incentive offers a cost-sharing grant of 80 percent of the costs of the cluster activities, paid on completion of the business-development activities or milestones, to a maximum of R50m. The grant is provided directly to approved applicants based on costs incurred and subject to job retention.
To be eligible for the grant, the cluster should have five or more members who are registered tax-paying entities or non-profit organisations. Clusters may include entities in services sectors related to manufacturing, as well as organisations that provide business development support services to enterprises in the manufacturing sector.