Massmart has joined forces with local fintech Retail Capital, providing access to funding to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
There are about 2.6 million SMEs in South Africa contributing 34% to the GDP, but it is well known that many still struggle to secure financing.
“These businesses play a huge role in our economy, so we are grateful that, with the support of Retail Capital, we are able to assist these SMEs to flourish by helping them maintain a healthy cash-flow and replenish their stock,” Varsha Dayaram, senior vice-president for group financial services at Massmart, said in a statement yesterday .
Through this partnership more business owners would benefit from working capital of up to R5 million, accessible within around 24 hours. They could also access the pre-funded Mastercard chip-and-pin cash card to bolster their cash-flow and liquidity challenges, which also enables traders and commercial customers to earn 1% cashback on their spend in Massmart stores, including Makro and Jumbo Cash & Carry.
Massmart said that the benefit of this support to SMEs had continued to expand since launching in selected Jumbo Cash & Carry stores in April, 2021.
It said the application process “is simple and fast and can be conducted through stores or digitally”.
Rean Bloem, general manager of funding at Retail Capital, said: “We wanted to create an inclusive offering that would help business owners all over the country.”
BUSINESS REPORT