Tembeka Social Investment Co. Ltd. is a South African social investment company that seeks to promote sustainable development in poor communities by initiating and acting in a chain of Financial Solidarity. As shown in the diagram below:

Tembeka’s role in this chain of solidarity is to mobilise investors to become involved in sustainable development through soft loans, institutional building grants and the purchase of Tembeka shares. This investment is then used to make relevant and affordable finance accessible to service providers such as NGO’s, Trusts, CBO’s Credit Unions and Development companies and, by extension their clients from disadvantaged communities.In this way Tembeka is able to effectively link investors and service providers to reach a large number of persons, as well as, a broad range of people engaged in their own economic and social upliftment in both urban and rural South Africa and eventually Southern Africa.

Tembeka’s vision

TEMBEKA is a financial “wholesaler” of choice; stimulating a thriving social economy.

Mission

TEMBEKA’s mission is to address poverty through an integrated and sustainable chain of financial solidarity.
Strategy

TEMBEKA will address its mission while:

* Addressing financial, social and institutional performance of clients,
* Collaborating with like minded organisations,
* Mobilising relevant resources (partners, skills, & finance),
* Developing a range of relevant financial & non financial services,
* Focusing on outcomes & impact our Tembeka’s portfolio,
* Growing shareholding,
* Growing and diversifying Tembeka’s portfolio,
* Improving efficiency and effectiveness and administration,
* Developing communication and public relation,
* Strengthening standards and practices of Governance.
* Developing partnerships

TEMBEKA:

1. Is a committed actor in the development microfinance market addressing the demands of many people struggling to access relevant and affordable finance,
2. Wants to provide its services in a manner that will be sustainable on more than one level simultaneously,
3. Understands its role as both initiator and actor in creating a chain of financial solidarity
4. Will work through partnerships with a wide range service providers across the main sectors affecting poor people’s economic activities,
5. Will work with both urban and rural communities across South Africa.

The concept of Tembeka was created in August 1996 by 3 Enterprise Development NGO’s and a French International Development and Investment Company called SIDI.TEMBEKA was initially created to act as a guarantee fund for leverage of funds from local banks and other financial institutions.A technical and market study that was carried out by Tembeka in 2002, indicated that there was a need for relevant wholesale financial services. Moreover, financial services which could be more flexible and sensitive to the needs of the market (including the final users of the funds).This review also pointed out that, through its links with service providers, Tembeka could:

1. address a broader range of clients’ financial needs across the enterprise, agriculture and housing sectors
2. through a diversification of its loan portfolio, spread financial risks more effectively.

As a result of this study Tembeka changed its mandate in February 2002 to become a second tier wholesale finance institution (Tembeka could also be described as a private Apex fund).