As a business owner, you probably know that access to business funding can be so important that not having it means the end of your business. This is when knowing where to get the most suitable business loan for you becomes critical. We have therefore put together this detailed guide to help you navigate, compare and pick the best business financing for your needs.
| Lender | Loan Range | Application Processing Time | Rating | Apply | |
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| Bridgement | R 10 000 – R 5 million | 3 – 24 hours | | ||
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| Lulalend | R 20 000 – R 1.5 million | 3 – 24 hours | | ||
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| Lender | Key Selling Points | Qualifying Criteria | Loan Range | Apply | Rating | |
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| FNB |
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| Key Selling Points | Qualifying Criteria | Loan Range | Apply | Rating |
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| R 20 000 up to R 1.5 million | ||
| Key Selling Points | Qualifying Criteria | Loan Range | Apply | Rating |
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Business financing is typically issued to businesses with a trading history of 6 months or more and have had some form of revenue.
Among the financing options for business owners who qualify are Government loans, term loans, business lines of credit and invoice/debtors factoring.
Businesses less than 6 months old which have not had an revenue can be considered for other financing options like grants and venture capital.
The government of South Africa seeks to stimulate economic activity in the country. As a result various government departments are tasked to assist Businesses in one form or another. These include but are not limited to Department of Trade and Industry, and the Department of Small Business Development.
The various departments issue business loans to both new and established business owners whose businesses are inline with the vision of the government.
If your business will likely created many jobs and you have a sold business plan and profile you probably qualify for a government business loan.
A traditional Business Loan is a loan issued by a bank to a business. The business is expected to repay the loan incrementally overtime until it is paid off. However, for starters there is nothing traditional about ‘traditional business loans’.
The only traditional thing about these loans is that there are issued by banks. That is not to say banks are not innovating, both in terms of technology and financial products. They are, but at a rate slower than Fintech lenders or what are known as alternative lenders.
Fintech Business loans are the new normal. Nowadays when business owners are searching for business loans they want fast decisions and fast application processes. Fintech lenders are businesses that have leveraged the modern technologies to build algorithms to significantly increase the decision making time.
Some of the technologies employed by Fintech lenders in South Africa and around the world have made it near-instant to decide on applicants’ business loan applications.
Check and improve your credit score: Many businesses are denied business funding primarily because of poor credit scores. That is the credit score of the business and its directors. If you are serious about getting business financing, the first thing you must do is to monitor and improve the credit score of both the company and its directors.
If your business is managed by a CEO or Executive that is not registered on Company registration documents, you need to monitor his or her credit score as well. Business Lenders are interested in the financial management ability of people running the business.
Be clear what you need the loan for: If there is one thing lenders do not want, is a business loan applicant who has no idea what they want to do with funding. Just because you qualify for business funding with a lender does not mean you willing get the finance. You therefore need to be clear when they ask you what you need the business finance for.
By clarity we mean, being able to take the risk analysis officer during your introduction call what you will do with the money, what you intend to achieve and how you will pay them back.
Gather all your Documents: With the rise of fintech lenders like Bridgement and Lulalend you probably won't need much documents. But you need to have them ready, incase they ask. However, if you use traditional lenders like banks you will high likely be required to send documents.
Determine what type of loan you need: Do you want business finance to keep you afloat for the next few weeks or for the next few years? You must know the answer to this question before applying for any form of business funding.
You shouldn't apply for any business loan that you seem to qualify for. If you do that, you probably won't succeed, lenders are generally smart, they will know if you are taking chances. You will, therefore, need to to know the exact type of loan you need before you start searching.
Search for suitable business loans that finance businesses in your industry: You probably have colleagues in your industry who have applied for business financing before, ask them to recommend the best lenders for your industry. Or even better, come to this page, we rank, rate and review Business Loans every month.
Genfin, Lulalend, Bridgement and FNB provide the most suitable business loans for small businesses
A good credit score to get business funding in South Africa is 630 and upward. However, the score requirements vary from one lender to another. Generally banks are a bit stringent. Alternative lenders usually entertain credit scores below 630.
The short answer is NO! However, it really depends with what you mean by not having money. If you mean that your business has never made money before, then your chances of getting any form of business financing range from slim to none. But if you mean, you do not have money at the moment as a result of your business activities, then the answer is Yes, you can possibly business funding from any one of the lenders.
NO! Getting a business loan is not difficult. You just need to have your things in order. Apply on time and make sure to apply with the right lender.
You can get business funding from Bridgement or Lulalend within 24 hours.
Make sure the directors and the company have a good credit score, your business financials are managed well preferably using an accounting Software, e.g. Xero or Sage or Quickbooks. Getting a small business loan usually seems difficult but in reality if you have had some revenue and your company has been in existence at least 6 months you probably qualify for one form of business funding or another.
Generally, you can get upto ZAR 5 million in form of a small business loan. However, if your business is big enough and has generated revenue for years, Banks can extend business financing in excess of ZAR 5 million.
Government business loans are the easiest to get. However, you need to be prepared to wait for a very long time. Fintech lenders are much faster and more flexible than banks. It is therefore safe to say the easiest small business loan to get is with one of the fintech lenders, mentioned above.
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