Business funding questions, answered in full.

Funder.co.za is South Africa's SME funding marketplace. It scores how fundable your business is, matches you with the funders most likely to approve you, and lets you submit one application that reaches multiple lenders.

No. Funder is a marketplace and does not provide credit itself. We connect businesses to funders, banks, alternative lenders and development finance institutions. Approved providers are FSP or NCR registered where applicable.

Nothing. Checking eligibility, getting a Fundability Score and receiving matches are free for South African businesses. Funder earns from funders who pay for qualified deal flow.

No. Matches and offers are no-obligation. You can compare terms and walk away at any point.

South Africa only, across all nine provinces. Funding is quoted and disbursed in Rand.

Your data is used to score your profile and to share your application with the funders you choose to proceed with. It is not sold. Only the fields funders need for a credit decision are shared.

Checking your fundability and getting matched involves no credit bureau enquiry. A formal enquiry only happens when a specific funder assesses a submitted application, and you are told before that point.

A bank assesses you against one credit policy. Funder assesses you against many — banks, alternative lenders and DFIs — and tells you upfront which ones you actually fit, and why.

Yes. A previous decline does not disqualify you. The Fundability Score usually shows exactly which gate you failed and what to fix before reapplying.

SMEs can start at funder.co.za. Lenders and funding partners can email partners@funder.co.za.

In most cases: a registered South African business, a business bank account, 6 to 12 months of trading, and monthly turnover from about R30,000 to R50,000. Larger term loans typically need 24 months of trading and audited or reviewed financials.

Yes, for several products — particularly merchant cash advances and smaller working capital facilities — provided there is a dedicated business bank account and consistent turnover. Registering with CIPC materially widens the options.

Conventional revenue-based lenders generally require six months or more. Focus on startup routes: grants, incubators, accelerator programmes and angel introductions, typically R25,000 to R500,000.

Not always. Unsecured working capital up to roughly R1m to R2m is common. Larger facilities often require a personal surety, a cession of book debts, or the financed asset as security.

For most bank, asset finance and DFI products, yes. Some alternative lenders will proceed while a SARS arrangement is in place. A valid Tax Compliance Status PIN is the fastest way to prove it.

Only some funders require it, usually for larger term loans. VAT registration is compulsory above R1m taxable turnover in a 12-month period.

It is decisive for DFI and government schemes and helpful for corporate supply-chain finance. It is largely irrelevant for merchant cash advances and most private working capital.

Yes. Funders assess affordability, not exclusivity. Existing debt reduces serviceability, so disclose it — undisclosed facilities discovered in bank statements are a common decline reason.

Formal business rescue or personal debt review of the directors severely restricts options. Grants and DFI development programmes may still be worth exploring.

Very few outright. Individual funders exclude specific sectors — for example, some invoice financiers exclude hospitality because it is not a B2B invoice model. The match engine applies each funder's exclusions automatically.

The eligibility check takes about 60 seconds. A full profile with the Fundability Score takes 10 to 15 minutes. Gathering documents is usually the longest part.

Almost always: directors' SA IDs, CIPC registration documents, and three to six months of business bank statements. Depending on product and amount, add management accounts, annual financial statements, SARS Tax Compliance Status, B-BBEE certificate or affidavit, debtors age analysis, supplier quotes or purchase orders.

Bank statements are the single strongest evidence of real turnover, cash-flow patterns, existing debit orders and return items. They are used to size the facility and set pricing.

The most recent consecutive three to six months, generally no older than 30 days at submission.

Photographs of statements are usually rejected. Download original PDFs from internet banking. Certificates may be scanned as long as they are complete and legible.

No. Documents are uploaded once to your profile and reused across all matched funders.

Many alternative lenders work from bank statements alone. Management accounts, even unaudited, strengthen an application and open more of the panel.

Yes. Progress is saved and you can resume from where you left off.

Yes. Businesses frequently combine, for example, purchase order finance to deliver an order and invoice finance to bridge the payment terms afterwards.

Your application is routed to matched funders in parallel. You can track each one's status in the dashboard and respond to document requests in one place.

It depends on product and risk. Bank facilities are often priced as prime plus a margin. Alternative working capital is commonly quoted as a monthly cost. Invoice finance is typically a 1–4% discount fee plus a service charge. PO finance runs roughly 3–8% of the order value per transaction. Funder surfaces effective cost so options are comparable.

No. Funder does not charge SMEs. Individual funders may charge initiation or administration fees, which are disclosed in their offer.

Working capital is usually 3 to 24 months. Term and expansion loans run 3 to 7 years. Asset finance is aligned to the asset's useful life. Invoice and PO finance settle as the underlying invoice or order is paid.

Most alternative lenders allow early settlement, often without penalty, though some charge the full agreed cost regardless. Always confirm the settlement basis before accepting.

Typically by debit order, weekly or monthly. Merchant cash advances are collected as a percentage of daily card turnover.

Not always, but it is common in South Africa for facilities above about R500,000, particularly for owner-managed businesses.

Contact the funder immediately. Most will restructure before escalating. Missed repayments are reported and will affect future applications.

Merchant cash advances and digital working capital can pay out within 24 to 72 hours of a complete application. Asset and PO finance typically take 5 to 10 days. Expansion loans take 10 to 21 days. DFI and government funding takes 30 to 90 days.

A merchant cash advance for card-heavy businesses, or digital working capital where a lender can read bank statements automatically.

Almost always documents: incomplete bank statement periods, expired tax clearance, CIPC records that do not match the directors listed, or missing pages.

Trading history below the minimum, turnover below the minimum, unstable or negative bank balances, undisclosed existing debt, tax non-compliance, and returned debit orders in the statement period.

Read the decline reasons on your dashboard, work the improvement list on your Fundability Score, and reapply once the specific gates are cleared — usually one to three months later.

No. A high score means you meet more funders' gates and your approval odds are strong, but each funder makes its own credit decision.

Working capital for a general gap; invoice finance if the gap exists because B2B customers pay on 30 to 90 day terms.

Asset finance, structured as an instalment sale if you want to own the asset, or a lease if you prefer to preserve cash and rotate equipment.

Purchase order finance. The funder pays your supplier directly; repayment follows customer settlement.

A merchant cash advance, because repayment flexes with daily card turnover and there is no fixed instalment.

A business expansion term loan, typically R500,000 to R20m over 3 to 7 years.

Government and DFI funding through SEFA, IDC or NEF — slower, but concessional and sometimes blended with grants.

Startup funding: grants, incubator placements, accelerator programmes and angel introductions, typically R25,000 to R500,000.

You can check eligibility without one. Creating an account saves your profile, documents and application statuses.

Yes. Funder is a progressive web app and can be installed to a phone or desktop home screen for offline-friendly access to your profile and checklists.

The account belongs to the registered profile owner. Share access carefully; documents contain sensitive financial information.

Edit your profile. The Fundability Score and your matches recalculate immediately.

Yes. Request deletion and your profile and uploaded documents are removed, subject to records funders must retain for regulatory reasons.