PODCAST | SA’s R350bn SME funding gap

The R350bn funding gap for small businesses in SA is the focus of this edition of Business Day Spotlight. 

Host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Jaco van Jaarsveldt, chief strategy and innovation officer at Experian SA. 

According to the recent SA MSME Access to Finance Report 2025, launched last month by Finfind, African Bank and Experian, small businesses in SA with turnovers under R1m are often classified as individual consumers, leading to inaccurate credit assessments and limited access to vital funding. 

The report highlights that because these businesses struggle to secure business credit, owners are forced to rely on personal credit cards and loans to fund their operations, further damaging their credit scores and trapping them in a cycle of debt.

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Based on this research, Van Jaarsveldt says the small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) funding gap is large, estimated at R350bn. 

He explains that the MSME sector is currently not growing significantly, nor making the meaningful contribution that is needed to the economy.

The study analysed a sample of more than 10,000 small business funding requests. Van Jaarsveldt explains how this state of affairs affects small business owners daily and in their operations. 

Through the discussion, Van Jaarsveldt underscores the findings of the study, the methodology used, the size of the SME funding gap in SA, drivers of this challenge and ways to improve the status quo. 

The report found that MSMEs were “the backbone” of the country’s economy, accounting for 40% of GDP and employing more than 60% of the nation’s workforce. 

Business Day Spotlight is a MultimediaLIVE Production.

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