KEKETSO MOTSOENE | When small business growth outpaces revenue

Growth can place a small business under financial pressure before the additional revenue arrives.

A supplier may have a confirmed order but find themselves still needing to buy stock and pay staff weeks before the customer settles the invoice.

Similarly, a manufacturer may have sufficient demand to justify increasing production, but require new equipment and upfront investment before increasing capacity.

The banking need begins in that gap. Timing matters, but so does understanding what the money needs to do, how cash moves through the business and what repayment structure the operation can carry.

When these elements are aligned, finance becomes an enabler of sustainable growth rather than a source of pressure.

Fintech relationships are giving banks more ways to respond to these moments. Digital processes can reduce paperwork and allow businesses to engage remotely.

Transaction information can provide a more current view of how the business is trading. Technology efficiencies can also shorten parts of the assessment and servicing process where time has a direct commercial consequence for the customer.

Those capabilities sit within African Bank’s phygital (physical and digital) approach. Customers can use digital channels when they provide the most convenient way to bank and retain access to physical channels and banking expertise when they need them.

Technology efficiencies can also shorten parts of the assessment and servicing process where time has a direct commercial consequence for the customer

For a business, the relationship can change as its financial needs become more complex. Specialist fintech partnerships are also part of how African Bank is building that capability.

A fintech partner can bring a technology stack developed around a particular problem, agility and speed to market. African Bank brings funding, banking expertise, operational discipline, relationship-based banking and the regulatory and compliance rigour required to deliver financial services responsibly.

Bringing those capabilities together allows African Ban k to develop solutions around specific business needs and take them to market more efficiently.

The demand is evident in our fintech-backed, online business loan proposition, a product geared to registered small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) requiring funding from R20,000 to R5m.

Since launch, more than 20,000 applications have been initiated, representing more than R1bn in funding applications from clients.