Ithala Bursary Scheme for KwaZulu-Natal Matriculants

Written by Keagan HendricksStaff Writer (Unisa Alumnus)

Reviewed & verified by Naledi KhumaloSenior Admissions and Bursaries EditorVerified

Ithala Development Finance Corporation (IDFC), the KwaZulu-Natal provincial development finance institution better known as Ithala, runs a bursary scheme for school leavers from the province. Ithala says it set up the scheme to “develop key skills within the communities we serve” and to grow the skills pool in KwaZulu-Natal. The scheme is open to qualifying matriculants based in KZN who want a tertiary qualification in one of six fields at a recognised South African institution. Ithala does not publish an opening or closing date for the scheme, and when this page was checked on 29 September 2026 the list of available bursaries on its website was empty.

Six study disciplines Ithala funds

The fields follow Ithala’s own business, which is property letting, business finance and development in the province. Ithala’s bursaries page lists these disciplines:

• Financial Management
• Property Management
• Information Technology Management
• Quantity Surveying
• Architecture
• Agriculture and Environment Studies

A matriculant planning to study something outside this list, such as engineering or teaching, falls outside the scheme as Ithala describes it. Students in quantity surveying can compare other funders on our quantity surveying bursaries list, and those heading into architecture can see the architecture bursaries page.

Fees, a place to stay and stationery

Ithala names three things a successful applicant receives under the Ithala Bursary Scheme:

• registration and tuition fees
• accommodation and meals
• stationery

Anything else is excluded. Ithala’s wording is that “all other costs that fall outside of the Bursary Scheme policy” are not covered. That policy is not published on the website, so a Rand amount, a textbook or laptop allowance, a pocket-money stipend or any work-back condition cannot be confirmed from Ithala’s own pages. Ithala also does not say how many bursaries it awards in a year.

Where the form comes from and where it goes

Ithala says prospective candidates must get the application form either from its website or from Ithala offices and branches in KwaZulu-Natal. A completed form can be sent in four ways:

• by email to dreams@ithala.co.za
• by post
• by courier
• by hand, at any Ithala branch or office

There is a practical problem with the website route. Ithala’s Apply For Bursary page shows two “Download” buttons, but on 29 September 2026 both opened a property vacancy schedule, not a bursary application form. The Bursaries page has an “Available Bursaries” table with no entries. Until a form appears online, the reliable way to get one is to ask at an Ithala branch or office, or to contact Ithala’s head office at 29 Canal Quay Road, Point Waterfront, Durban, on 031 907 8911 or talktous@ithala.co.za, and ask whether the scheme is taking applications.

What Ithala leaves unsaid

Ithala’s pages do not give an academic minimum, a household income limit, an age limit, a list of supporting documents or a selection process. “Qualifying matriculants” is the only eligibility wording, together with the KZN base and the six fields. Applicants should therefore treat the form, once they have it, as the authority on documents and conditions. Other KZN public funders publish fuller rules; the KZN Provincial Treasury bursary is one provincial scheme with a set application cycle, and agriculture students can look through agriculture bursaries from other funders.

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