SA Covid-19 assistance initiative props up businesses By ANA Reporter Share JOHANNESBURG - An initiative set up to help South African businesses cope with the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic said on Tuesday it had helped 320 stay afloat, saving more than 2000 jobs. The Covid Business Rescue Assistance (COBRA) initiative released its statement a week after data from the national statistics agency showed South Africa’s economy contracted by seven percent in 2020 -- after edging up 0.2 percent in 2019 --as the health crisis took its toll. The success of the initiative shows that South Africa needs innovative solutions to save and bolster the businesses that have survived the economic ravages of the last year, COBRA chief executive officer Adam Craker said.