This monthly blog from Decusatio Working Capital Solutions tracks the key trends shaping how South Africa’s growth businesses access funding and raise capital. Our focus is on practical insights around working capital solutions, strategic fundraising and the funding structures available to entrepreneurs, founders and management teams looking to scale their businesses sustainably.
As 2025 comes to an end, business sentiment in South Africa is showing signs of improvement, supported by positive economic indicators and renewed confidence across several sectors. For growth businesses, this more optimistic environment is opening new opportunities — from improved access to working capital solutions and DTIC incentives, to more constructive conversations with investors and funders. In this edition, we explore the trends that will matter most to companies planning their capital strategies for the year ahead.Here are some of the trends we are tracking in December 2025.
What are our digital channels telling us about trends in the South African Working Capital space?
A key source of insights for us are our digital channels where we look for real-time data and insights from our audience. If we look at our most recent data for December, we identify the following search-phrases and keywords as being popular with our audience:
- “Export marketing and investment assistance”
- “Agro-Processing Support Scheme”
- “Working Capital loan SME”
“Export marketing and investment assistance”:
With muted growth prospects in South Africa, many businesses are now looking to access new markets outside of the country.
The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) offers support to organisations looking to enter export markets. There is more on this incentive here.
“Agro-Processing Support Scheme”
In terms of in-bound enquiries, this has been one of the DTIC incentives attracting the most interest. This is largely on the back of a robust performing agriculture sector.
Despite the popularity of this incentive, there are some inherent challenges in the APPS. We unpack some of these challenges – and alternative options – in this article here.
The economic recovery is gaining momentum:
Over the last decade, South Africa has struggled with below average economic growth, but the country has recorded multiple quarters of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expansion with the country targeting approximately 2% economic growth.
This has been supported by a more stable electricity supply, strong performances from the tourism and agriculture sectors and signs of life in the construction sector.
Some upbeat data points include:
- “The Cranes are back in Sandton” from Hilton Tarrant at Moneyweb
- “SA business mood soars to 14-year high on tourism boom”
- Bureau of Economic Research – “Retailers’ business confidence jumped from 32% to 43% during the fourth quarter of 2025, bouncing back above the long-term average to align with levels seen during the first half of the year. This significant recovery in retailers optimism points to solid consumer spending momentum during the fourth quarter.”
TUNL are highlighting US tariff risks
As recently reported on the SA Trade Desk, while economic activity is picking up, the threat of US tariffs remain a disruptive issue for many SMEs.
Craig Lowman, CEO and co-founder of South African international shipping platform TUNL noted:
“In a normal year, Black Friday is a clear peak. The US-bound gross monthly volume (GMV) of shipments for Black Friday 2024 was around 60% above average monthly shipments. This year, after the new US tariffs and the loss of the $800 de minimis threshold, Black Friday came in 46% below the monthly average, and down 66% year-on-year.”
More focus on Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) optimisation
Anecdotal feedback from our clients suggest that many organisations are giving a lot of thought to the upcoming “review” of B-BBEE and the ESD landscape.
Through our partnership with the Uzenzele team, we are seeing a lot of interest in discussions around how organisations can start to optimise their ESD investment strategies. For some insights around this topic, Nadia and myself unpack 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?”
Are you looking for assistance with strategic fundraising in 2026?
Through our partners we have a proven track-record when it comes to strategic fundraising – this includes a R400m capital raise incorporating a blended solutions which includes aa financial readiness assessment, DTIC incentives, Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) and affordable debt solution.
For entrepreneurs and growth-focused leadership teams, 2026 presents an opportunity to be deliberate and strategic about how capital is raised and deployed. The right mix of working capital solutions, a clear understanding of available DTIC incentives, and a disciplined approach to strategic fundraising can materially improve a business’s ability to scale and create long-term value. At Decusatio Working Capital Solutions, we work alongside entrepreneurs to structure funding strategies that are aligned to growth ambitions and market realities.
If you are planning a capital raise or reviewing your funding options for 2026, we invite you to engage with our team and explore how we can support your next phase of growth.
