What Fasset does

Fasset (Finance and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority, FASSET) is a South African statutory body established in April 2000 under the Skills Development Act of 1998, operating as one of 21 Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) under the oversight of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). It is mandated to facilitate skills development in the finance, accounting, management consulting, and other financial services sector — a sector that employed more than 168,000 workers as of 2018. Fasset derives its funding from Skills Development Levies collected by SARS (1% of payroll for employers with annual payroll exceeding R500,000), received 3–4 months in arrears, and disburses these funds as mandatory grants (20% levy rebate against an approved Skills Development Plan) and discretionary grants for bursaries, learnerships, professional body qualifications, and skills programmes.

Its product portfolio spans five areas: bursaries (Employed Learner Bursary capped at R50,000 per learner for scarce-skills qualifications at public HET/TVET colleges); grants (Mandatory, Discretionary, and the 2024/2025 Training Incentive Grant); training programmes (Skills Programmes, Learnerships, Internships, TVET Work-Based Projects, and TVET WBE Recruitment); ETQA-delegated provider and workplace accreditation functions (QCTO-delegated QAP since 30 November 2022); and digital portals (ODOO LMIS for learner/levy administration, Learner Portal, Invoice Management System). Bursary selection operates first-come-first-served with academic performance considered.

Fasset serves three primary segments: registered employers in the finance and accounting services sector (mandatory and discretionary grant recipients), learners and students (bursary and learnership beneficiaries), and accredited training providers and TVET colleges (delivery partners). Distribution runs through the ODOO-based self-serve portals, a head office in Randburg, and four regional offices embedded inside Vhembe, eThekwini, College of Cape Town, and Goldfields TVET colleges, supplemented by strategic partnerships with Wits Business School, IWFSA/Duke CE, and Graca Machel Trust for women-leadership and entrepreneurship programmes.

Name

Fasset

Legal name

Finance and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority

Website

https://fasset.org.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fasset is the South African SETA for the finance and accounting services sector, administering skills development levies, grants, bursaries, and QCTO-delegated quality assurance functions to develop scarce skills in the sector under the Skills Development Act.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sector Skills Development and Training Authority Services

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (6115), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Financial Aid Systems, Disbursement & Payment Operations (EDADAHAJ)

Keywords

• Skills development levies
• Sector education training
• Workforce skills grants
• Learnership accreditation services
• Bursary funding programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Randburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Skills Development Levies: Fasset receives mandatory levy contributions from employers in the finance and accounting services sector. Under the Skills Development Levies Act (No 9 of 1999), employers with payroll exceeding R500,000 per annum pay 1% of total remuneration to employees. Fasset receives levies 3 to 4 months in arrears and uses these funds to provide mandatory grants (20% of levy through Skills Development Plans) and discretionary grants for learning interventions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Fasset (Finance and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority) is a South African statutory body that collects mandatory skills development levies from employers in the finance and accounting sector and disburses them back as grants, bursaries, learnerships, skills programmes, and internships. It also accredits training providers and workplaces, and acts as a Quality Assurance Partner delegated by the QCTO for the sector. Operations are administered through web-based portal systems (ODOO LMIS, Learner Portal, Invoice Management) and a national network of regional offices.

Product overview

Fasset is the Finance and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) for South Africa, established under the Skills Development Act of 1998. Rather than a single commercial product, Fasset operates a portfolio of government-funded skills development interventions, financial grants, and online portal platforms. The core offerings span five areas: (1) bursaries — the Employed Learner Bursary covering tuition and textbooks up to R50,000 per learner for qualifications linked to top scarce skills; (2) grants — Mandatory Grants (linked to Skills Development Plans), Discretionary Grants (for learning interventions and professional body qualifications), and Training Incentive Grants (TIG) for qualifying employers; (3) training programmes — Skills Programmes, TVET Work-Based Projects, TVET WBE Recruitment, Learnerships, and Internships targeting the finance and accounting sector; (4) provider and workplace accreditation services overseen by the FASSET ETQA under QCTO delegation; and (5) digital portals — the ODOO LMIS for internal LMS and stakeholder management, the Learner Portal for programme access, and an Invoice Management System. These interventions collectively serve to increase employment flow into the sector, develop scarce skills, and facilitate sector transformation as mandated by South African skills development legislation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Employed Learner Bursary
• Mandatory Grant
• Discretionary Grant
• Training Incentive Grant (TIG)
• Learnerships
• Skills Programmes
• Internships
• TVET Work-Based Projects
• TVET WBE Recruitment

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Wits Business School (Women Development Programme)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFasset partners with Wits Business School for the Executive Development programme - a leadership programme enhancing business acumen and leadership skills of women in middle and executive management. Includes mentorship component.
• IWFSA / Duke CE (Women Legacy Programme)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFasset partners with IWFSA/Duke CE for the Women Legacy Programme - a leadership development initiative for women executives in the financial services sector. Includes mentorship component.
• Vhembe TVET CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFasset operates regional office at Vhembe TVET College site in Limpopo for skills development programme delivery and stakeholder support.
• eThekwini TVET CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFasset operates regional office at eThekwini TVET College in Durban (KwaZulu-Natal) for skills development programme delivery and stakeholder support.
• College of Cape TownminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFasset operates regional office at College of Cape Town Guguletu Campus for skills development programme delivery and stakeholder support in the Western Cape.
• Goldfields TVET CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFasset operates regional office at Goldfields TVET College Skills and Innovation Centre in Welkom (Free State) for skills development programme delivery and stakeholder support.
• Graca Machel Trust (Women Creating Wealth)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerFasset promotes the Women Creating Wealth programme dedicated to enabling African women entrepreneurs to thrive through essential skills development.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Services Sector Education and Training Authority (Services SETA): One of the largest South African SETAs covering business, consulting, and services. Direct peer because Services SETA operates the identical statutory skills authority framework as Fasset and has overlapping employer base in consulting and business services sub-sectors.
• Banking Sector Education and Training Authority (BANKSETA): South African SETA covering the banking and microfinance sector. Direct peer because BANKSETA operates the same statutory model (levy collection, mandatory/discretionary grants, learnerships) under the same Skills Development Act framework as Fasset, with comparable regional footprint and digital portal infrastructure.
• Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services SETA (MERSETA): South African SETA covering manufacturing and engineering. Direct peer because MERSETA operates the identical statutory model (levy collection, grants, learnerships, ETQA delegation) as Fasset across a different but comparable sector footprint.
• Media, Information and Communication Technologies SETA (MICT SETA): South African SETA covering ICT and media sectors. Direct peer because MICT SETA operates the same statutory levy-grant model, regional office structure, and learner portal systems as Fasset, addressing similar workforce development mandates.
• Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority (INSETA): South African SETA for the insurance sector. Direct peer because INSETA performs the same statutory skills authority functions as Fasset (levy-grant model, bursaries, learnerships, ETQA/QAP functions, regional offices) and serves an adjacent financial services sector workforce.
• Construction Education and Training Authority (CETA): South African SETA for the construction sector. Direct peer because CETA executes the same Skills Development Act mandate structure (mandatory grants, discretionary grants, learnerships, accreditation) as Fasset, though serving a different industrial sector.
• Education, Training and Development Practices SETA (ETDP SETA): South African SETA focused on education and training sector skills. Direct peer because ETDP SETA operates under the same Skills Development Act mandate as Fasset and accredits training providers and assessors across the same national footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO): South African quality council for occupational qualifications. Broader incumbent because QCTO is the body that delegated Quality Assurance Partner functions to Fasset, governing the framework within which Fasset accredits finance and accounting occupations.
• Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA): South African financial services regulator overseeing market conduct. Broader incumbent because the FSCA sits in the same regulated ecosystem Fasset supports through skills development, and both serve overlapping financial sector stakeholders, though FSCA's regulatory mandate differs from Fasset's training funding role.
• South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA): Oversees the National Qualifications Framework in South Africa. Broader incumbent because SAQA sets the policy framework under which Fasset operates its QAP accreditation functions and ETQA delegated responsibilities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/fasset_sa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fasset