Black Industrialists Scheme (BIS)

BIS

Supports research teams and institutions for BIS in manufacturing, energy systems, and aerospace.

The Black Industrialists Scheme (BIS) is a South African government programme administered by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) to support black-owned enterprises building value-adding industrial capacity in manufacturing. A qualifying black industrialist is defined as a juristic person with more than 51% black ownership — held by South African citizens of African, Coloured, or Indian descent by birth, descent, or naturalisation — where the owner personally controls operations and bears personal financial risk. Nominee structures or passive ownership arrangements are disqualifying.

BIS awards cost-sharing grants of 30–50% of qualifying costs, capped at R50 million ZAR per project. The applicant must co-fund the remaining 50–70% of total eligible costs. Sub-caps apply within the main grant ceiling: feasibility studies are capped at R3 million ZAR, post-investment support at R500,000 ZAR, and business development services at R2 million ZAR. The Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) priority sectors are preferred, including ocean economy, oil and gas, clean energy, mineral beneficiation, aerospace, automotive components, agro-processing, textiles, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals.

Applications are submitted to biapplications@thedtic.gov.za. A separate claims process is handled at biclaims@thedtic.gov.za. Successful applicants must demonstrate a medium- to long-term commitment to manufacturing in their chosen IPAP sector. Because the scheme targets ownership-verified black industrialists with genuine operational control, applicants should be prepared to document both ownership structure and personal financial exposure at the time of assessment.