South African fintech company ProfitShare Partners has secured ZAR100 million (US$5.87 million) in debt and quasi-equity funding from the SA SME Fund to help it provide small and medium enterprises with much-needed capital to catalyse growth and assist them during the COVID-19 crisis.
ProfitShare Partners utilises tech to fast-track SME performance and delivery through its profit-sharing business model. As a short-term capital partner to small business owners, the fintech company also provides the professional expertise and guidance.
The company secured a ZAR25 million (US$1.47 million) capital line from the Vumela Fund late last year, and has now secured a further ZAR100 million (US$5.87 million) from the SA SME Fund, which invests in intermediaries that provide debt and equity instruments to SMEs. Three-quarters of the amount is in the form of a five-year loan, and the other quarter quasi-equity.
ProfitShare Partners financially partners on transactions with SMEs to deliver successfully on their orders and contracts with reputable organisations, allowing them to access bigger business and grow exponentially in short periods of time. Since introducing its business model to the market, the company has assisted more than 100 SMEs,
The company’s founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Andrew Maren said the deal was a great win for SMEs that cannot access traditional funding.
“This capital helps ProfitShare Partners financially partner with hundreds of SMEs to catalyse their businesses to becoming bigger and more sustainable, enabling them to attract traditional funding in the future,” he said.
“Our model is designed to give SMEs a boost. As opposed to providing capital as a form of a loan, we share in the profit and assist our clients in achieving financial sustainability to the point where they are either in a position to qualify for traditional finance or they no longer require finance.”
Ketso Gordhan, CEO of the SA SME Fund, said the availability of funding and access to working capital had always been a challenge for SMEs.
“This has been exacerbated by the country’s economic crisis which has been deepened by the pandemic. PSP will provide SMEs with an alternative funding model to act as a catalyst for their survival and growth,” he said.
“The SA SME Fund is extremely pleased to be announcing this investment; it could not be more timeous.”
