As a small to medium enterprise (SME) owner, the chances are that at some point in your journey, you need funding. SME South Africa prides itself on assisting SMEs with obtaining funding by acting as a funding intermediary. To improve your chances of getting approved, this article takes a look at SME funding requirements.
Applying for funding on the SME South Africa website is quite simple. Simply navigate to the Funding section and click the big red button ‘Apply Now’ to find the online form. Once you have submitted your application form, a series of checks are run to see if your business is eligible. This information is then submitted to a relevant funding partner who reaches out to you (the applicant) to continue the process.
But how can you improve your chances of getting approved? By looking at the SME funding requirements, of course!
Applying for Funding on SME South Africa
“SME South Africa offers applicants working capital such as inventory loans, bridging finance, unsecured loans, and purchase order funding,” says Tshepho Bosega, Platform Manager at SME South Africa.
As the platform manager, Tshepho works closely with the application forms that are scrutinised before connecting applicants with the right funding partner.
“The maximum loan term is 24 months, and the amount differs between R 10 000 to R 5 million. Our interest rates also vary between 2% and 6% monthly,” he adds.
Tshepho shares that when you apply for funding on SME South Africa, you need to keep the following at hand:
- Your business details. This includes your business registration number and your business name.
- A copy of your ID.
- Personal details. This includes your full name, address and contact details.
- 6-months bank statements.
Any supporting documents that are uploaded can be uploaded in any format and don’t have to be certified.
“There are a few questions that you also need to fill in on the application form, but all of them focus on the funding needs of your business.”
Approved funding applicants will know within 24 hours, but this time frame might be different if applications are submitted during weekends or on public holidays. The funding partner will reach out to you directly via e-mail or phone.
SME Funding Requirements for Applicants
Before you apply for any kind of funding, it’s recommended that you read the requirements every business needs to adhere to before starting the process.
Requirements for applicants are:
- Must be CIPC Registered
- Must be a South African Business
- Must be operating for at least a year
- Your business needs to have a monthly income of R 40 000 per month, for 6 months
- The last 15 EFTs on your bank statement should show that you are able to pay the lender back
- You must have more than one source of income (client)
“What sometimes happens is that applicants meet all the requirements for except for showing in their last 15 EFTs,” Tshepho explains. “Let’s say someone has an income of R 40 000 per month, but it only comes from two sources (clients), then it raises the question: What happens if you lose one client?”
He elaborates that that is why some types of applicants are easier to be approved than others. Individuals such as retail easily get approved, because there are multiple transactions occurring every day.
However, Tshepho encourages declined applicants to re-apply after 6 months with the updated information.
Benefits of Applying for Funding on SME South Africa
There are many reasons to apply for funding through SME South Africa. “Most notably, we accept applications across multiple industries.
“Any business owner looking for funding should turn to us when they want to compare their options or investigate the type of funding that they need.”
One of the things that SME South Africa does is assist applicants who were declined with more loan options. “We thus save entrepreneurs time, provide more funding options and have an ongoing process with aggregating new funding partners,” he says.”
“At the end of the day, we take a look at the different needs of our SMEs, so our strategy is to have as many funding partners in the funding space as possible,” Tshepho concludes.
Now that you know what the SME Funding requirements are, apply for funding.
