Financing

Need for Speed: How Fast Can SMEs Get Business Funding?

July 2024 • 3m

Jordan Leighton

Head of Partnerships, Bridgement

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For business owners who need to get business funding fast, short-term cash flow finance is your best bet. The good news is that, when your cash flow is temporarily in danger of slowing to a trickle, you can access business funding much faster than you might think.

There are other benefits to having accessible cash flow finance solutions on hand. With liquidity to spare, growing businesses are prepared to get a jumpstart on the competition. Having fast, flexible funding options can also make businesses more resilient to market fluctuations.

The key term here, however, is speed. While there are plenty of avenues that SMEs can pursue to get short-term finance, not all providers are able to turn around successful funding applications fast enough to get cash flowing in time to capitalise on time-sensitive opportunities.

How long does it take to get business funding in South Africa?

The length of time it takes to get business funding in South Africa depends on whether you approach a traditional or an alternative finance institution. Typically, it takes traditional banks and lenders a few weeks or more to approve cash flow financed solutions, not including the time it takes to clear complex qualification criteria and lengthy application processes. On the other hand, some alternative fintech providers can give the green light on funding in just a matter of hours.

The decreasing demand for traditional financial services from SMEs combined with the rapid expansion of the alternative lending sector in South Africa indicates that most traditional funding avenues simply do not cater to the needs of growing businesses. The bottom line? Growing enterprises need speed and simplicity as much as they need capital.

How does alternative financing allow SMEs to get business funding so fast?

Traditional funders typically require prospective borrowers to supply extensive evidence of their creditworthiness, including personal and business financial statements, various documents, and proof of collateral. Conversely, alternative funders like Bridgement are leveraging the power of fintech to assess a business’s credit profile simply by submitting electronic copies of finance records or syncing seamlessly with its cloud-based accounting software records.

Furthermore, most alternative lenders offer simplified digital application processes, meaning that business owners can apply for cash flow finance whenever suits them, wherever suits them.

Not only does this require much less effort from the borrower, but it allows alternative lenders to act much, much more quickly on funding decisions. For instance, Bridgement’s fastest-ever approval time came down to just 14.4 minutes.

Get fast and furiously flexible funding options from Bridgement

If your growing business has a need for speed, then there are plenty of reasons why Bridgement is the ideal finance solutions provider for you:

Simplified criteria makes it easier to unlock cash flow funding precisely when your growing business needs it the most
Paperless application takes just 2 minutes to fill out online
Obligation-free finance facilities; only pay for it when you use it
No penalty fees for early settlement, meaning businesses can make use of short-term cash flow financing with relative cost-effectiveness

Partner with a lender who understands what your business needs to keep growing and thriving. Apply for your Bridgement facility today and get cash flowing again in as little as a few hours.

About the Author

Jordan Leighton

Head of Partnerships, Bridgement

Jordan is the Head of Partnerships at Bridgement. Having studied a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) at the University of Pretoria, Jordan went on to work as both a Financial Advisor at Envestpro and a Business Development Manager at TecEx before joining Bridgement. His background in both advisory services, as well as business development, lends Jordan a natural finesse for strategy and a keen eye for identifying growth potential in small businesses, which serve him well in the facilitation of partnerships While no two days look entirely the same for Jordan, a typical day consists of SME outreach and communications, onboarding and clarification of processes for current clients and managing relations with partners who form part of Bridgement’s referral network. Helping prospective and current clients understand the value that Bridgement brings to their businesses and how best to leverage its resources is a key responsibility for Jordan in successful partnership management. He also assists in product innovation, development and implementation. As a small business owner himself, Jordan understands how fundamentally vital cash flow is to secure long-term growth and success. Equally important is the reality of how difficult it is as an SME to acquire this funding and support from traditional banks. Massive amounts of red tape and archaic procedures make it difficult, if not impossible, for smaller businesses to obtain cash flow, particularly if the minimum requirement is higher than what they need. This in-depth awareness and empathy drive Jordan to assist South African SMEs in building successful, lasting growth and development partnerships with Bridgement. Success, to Jordan, is when a client successfully applies for and receives the funding they need without delays or unnecessary complexity, and it’s a goal he’s achieved for more than 250 small businesses to date.