The People’s Fund

About

The People’s Fund is a platform that funds purchase orders by using crowdfunding. The public can donate through The People’s Stokvel, which is a stokvel membership.

The aim of The People’s Stokvel is to invest in small black-owned business owners, who are also members of the initiative. If you apply for purchase order funding and get approved, you must apply to become a member of The People’s Stokvel because only members get the funding.

The partners of The People’s Fund include THUD, BrownSense, Tsogo Afrika, and Sirdar.

To be eligible to apply, the gross profit margin on your project must be at least 20%. Your client must also be on the lender’s preferred client list. You can get your purchase order financed within two to five days.

You can apply for purchase order funding of up to R1-million. The project must be completed within 60 days.

Features

• Type of funding – Purchase order funding
• Qualifying criteria – The project’s gross profit margin must be higher than 20%. For first-time clients, your buyer must be on The People’s Fund’s preferred client list. You must have worked with the buyer (customer) before (within the past 12 months). Your purchase order should be completed within 60 days.
• Repayment terms –  You will be required to pay a supplier VAT cost transfer, a purchase order facilitation fee, and a stokvel membership fee (if you are not a member of The People’s Fund stokvel). Currently, the cost of the facilitation fee is 6% (plus VAT) of the purchase order – this is only if the purchase order margin is 30%; for lower margins, the fee will be adjusted accordingly. No interest is charged.
• Application process – You can apply online. Some of the questions asked on the online form are ‘Have you done a purchase order before? Who is your client? Is your supplier VAT registered?’ Documentation that will be requested is CIPC documents; all director IDs and proof of addresses; the company’s proof of address; a valid purchase order; supplier quotes; proof of previous work (previous PO, with the delivery note and invoice to client); 12-month bank statements (if less are available, then proof of previous work needs to be within the period of the bank statements provided for); and tax clearance certificate and BEE Affidavit/ certificate.

Pricing

There is a repayment calculator available online. The costs on the loan will include the following:

• Supplier VAT cost transfer – R208.69*
• Purchase order facilitation fee – R1391.30*
• Stokvel membership fee – R1600*
• Note: in a case where your supplier is not VAT registered, the VAT cost will be passed on to you in your total repayment.

*Fees at the time the review was written; fees are subject to change.

Pros

This is ideal for businesses that need large purchase order financing, you can request up to R1 million in funding for a purchase order. The People’s Fund provides detailed information on the costs of the purchase order being facilitated by them, including what the costs of the flat fee charged will be.

Cons

The minimum finance requirements are higher. The repayment term is short (it’s only 60 days long).

Customer service

The team is available on WhatsApp and by email. To visit their offices, you must make an appointment first because no walk-ins are allowed.