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A new matchmaking platform to directly link providers of grant funding pledged to South Africa's Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP) with domestic beneficiaries is aiming to ensure the disbursement of at least R600-million in grant funding to 20 projects in 2025 and facilitate disbursements of R1.5-billion to 50 projects in 2026.

Grant recipients could include local small firms, trade unions and municipalities, as well as community-based and nongovernmental organisations.

Known as the JET Funding Platform, the online tool was officially unveiled at a function in eMalahleni, Mpumalanga; the province identified as "ground zero" for South Africa's efforts to cushion workers and communities whose lives and livelihoods could be negatively affected by the shift from coal to renewable energy.

The website through which potential grant beneficiaries can apply for funding will be launched on November 1.

Speaking at the JET Funding Platform unveiling on October 25, Minister Patricia de Lille, who spoke in her capacity as acting Electricity and Energy Minister, said the platform was not a fund itself, but rather a way to improve visibility of the pipeline of potential JET projects that could be supported by grant funders.

A total of $821-million in grant funding linked to South Africa's JET-IP has been pledged by the International Partners Group of France, Germany, the UK, the US and the EU, which have now been joined by Denmark and Netherlands, as well as by Canada, Switzerland and Spain, which are supporting the JET-IP bilaterally.

Grants make up a small portion of the larger $11.6-billion pledged in support of South Africa's JET-IP, which will target investments in the electricity, new energy vehicle and green hydrogen sectors. The bulk of the funding is being made available in the form of concessional loans, including policy-linked loans to the National Treasury.

While South Africa is continuing to call for yet more grant funding there has also been criticism that the initial grants have been directed mainly towards entities and consultants from the countries providing the funding.

The funders, meanwhile, have indicated that the pipeline of potential grant-ready domestic projects is limited.

The development of the matchmaking platform, which has been overseen by the JET project management office in the Presidency, is accompanied with a plan to further grow the pipeline by providing project preparation support to potential beneficiaries.

JET Funding Platform manager Jerrod Moodley said at the launch that various initiatives would be undertaken to support potential beneficiaries with their project preparation so as to expand the number of grant-ready applications that could be made through the online system.

Once an application was submitted, Moodley said that it would be assessed against the eligibility criteria set for the JET-IP, as well as whether it was ready to be proposed to a potential funder.

Funders would then complete their own assessments before deciding whether or not to approve a grant.

The category of projects that could receive support has been broadened well beyond climate-mitigation projects to include projects that could enable the transition, those that were supportive of economic transformation, community empowerment and ownership, as well as those that could promote economic diversification, improve governance and compliance, and projects deemed to have a high and sustainable impact.

"JET Funding Platform stands as a beacon of hope - a mechanism designed to connect the most deserving projects and communities with the critical grant funding needed to achieve objectives set out in the JET-IP," De Lille said.