Raesetja Frans is running two private clinics that provide affordable healthcare in different parts of Limpopo.

Her vision of bringing healthcare to the community was made possible with the help of the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (Sefa), which provided R480 000 in funding and the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda), which assisted with marketing.

The Vital Care Clinic in Mokopane and Unjani Clinic in Tshamahansi are both owned by Frans.

She used the funding from Sefa to buy furniture, stock and staff salaries.

Both clinics offer family planning, pregnancy care, chronic illness management, immunisation services and treatment for common illnesses, such as colds.

“The clinics assist people who cannot afford private doctors, but also can’t spend the entire day in a queue at a public health facility,” she says.

Frans has an extensive nursing background, having worked in public and private hospitals for 15 years. She also has a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the University of Limpopo.

She employs four permanent and four temporary people in her clinics.

How to get funding

You can apply for funding  through the Common Application Template form which can be found on the Seda and Sefa websites.

In addition to the form, Sefa applicants must also supply a certified copy of the business owner’s identity document, stamped bank statements or a bank account confirmation letter.

Seda also assists small medium and micro enterprises draft business plans and achieve tax and business registration compliance.

For more information log on to www.sefa.org.za/products/term-loan or www.seda.org.za

-This article was originally published in the GCIS Vuk'uzenzele.