With South Africa’s mining sector receiving a healthy boost from elevated gold prices and the agricultural sector delivering strong results, there’s an air of cautious optimism among the SMEs in our network.
As we move into the final quarter of the year, many businesses are reviewing their working capital and capital-raising strategies.
As an advisory firm supporting businesses with their funding requirements, we constantly track industry trends and new incentives to better assist our clients. Each month, we analyse developments in working capital, capital raising, and business incentives to identify emerging opportunities. We also explore technology solutions that can help bring entrepreneurs and funders closer together.
What are our data sources telling us?
One of our primary sources of data is our website and Google Trends data. We use this to inform what funding entrepreneurs are focused on.
Some of the keywords identified in our Google and website data for the month of October:
- Critical infrastructure programme
- Agro-Processing Support Scheme (APSS)
- Bridgement
- With a potential pipeline of over R1 trillion across energy, road, rail, water and other sectors, there is huge interest in the funding of infrastructure projects. You can find out more about the Critical Infrastructure programme and the associated Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) grant here.
- The interest in the Agro-Processing Support Scheme (APSS) potentially reflects the robust agriculture sector in South Africa. Find out more about the APSS scheme and DTIC incentive here.
- Bridgement are one of our funding partners who are able to rapidly turnaround short-term working capital requests. The company offers Business Loans, Lines of Credit, Invoice Finance and Trade Credit. You can setup a free online Bridgement account online here.
The new SME Snapshot is live
Through our partnership with SME.Tax, we work closely with the team from SME Snapshot — a South African fintech business that provides data analytics to entrepreneurs, Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) operators, and small business incubators and accelerators.
The new SME Snapshot platform has recently been launched, offering exciting new tools to analyse SME data. Whether you’re a standalone entrepreneur or looking to measure profitability and other key metrics across your ESD or incubator cohorts, SME Snapshot is a powerful tool designed to support you.
Mega opportunities in the energy sector
After years of constrained energy supply, South Africans will be encouraged by recent announcements from Minister of Electricity and Energy, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.
The Minister recently unveiled a R2.2 trillion energy infrastructure plan to be rolled out by 2042 — an initiative that is sure to capture the imagination of entrepreneurs looking to fund projects in the energy sector.
For an alternative perspective, independent energy analyst Tshepo Kgadima argues that the problem has been wrongly diagnosed and that “the prescription is going to cause harm rather than good.” You can listen to his interview on Moneyweb [here].
If you would like to discuss funding options for energy projects, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Deploy ESD to help your key suppliers raise strategic capital this year-end
As the 2025 calendar year draws to a close, organisations have a unique opportunity to reimagine the way they deploy their Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) initiatives.
This includes exploring strategic fundraising opportunities and innovative approaches such as the chance to “sponsor a Black Industrialist.”
Our CEO, Marc Ashton, and Nadia Rawjee from Uzenzele recently co-authored an article for BizCommunity that unpacked the role of strategic fundraising in ESD.
In it, they explored the question:
“What would it look like if 80% of your current Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) budget were freed up for other projects — while your beneficiary still secured the full funding they needed?”
[Read the full article online here.]
Planning to raise capital?
Whether you are planning for short-term working capital solutions to help you navigate the end of the year or you are looking for more strategic capital raising, we have an experienced team on hand to assist you.
Reach out to us with your details and one of our team will be able to setup a discussion around your funding readiness.
