A new Web-based matchmaker system that pairs up small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs) with potential government and private sector financiers has been launched to unlock access to finance for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Finfind, launched at the second National Small Business Policy Colloquium in Sandton, on Friday, by the Department of Small Business Development, the US Agency for International Development and the Human Resource Development Council, was aimed at providing a one-stop solution for one of South Africa’s major barriers to SMME development.

A lack of access to finance remained one of the key challenges facing SMMEs, with some 80% of small businesses having difficulty accessing funding from the main commercial banks.

On the back of constrained finance, SMMEs battled to grow and were unable to develop the record and asset base required by banks for a loan to be approved.

“One of the main reasons why SMME owners struggle to obtain finance is because they are not considered finance ready by large banking institutions.

“Secondly, no single solution presently exists to assist a business owner explore all the finance options available to him or her,” said Finfind CEO Darlene Menzies.

The initiative, two years in the making, provided comprehensive information surrounding verified lenders in the database and the products available, matched each SMME with the lender and product most suited to its needs and assessed whether it was “finance ready”.

Finfind also assisted SMMEs in becoming finance ready by providing expert advice, linking business owners with a choice of over 10 000 accountants and business advisers and providing a platform of easy-to-use tools to help with their financial recordkeeping.

The portal provided a summary of all government funds and private sector finance options, along with “finance literacy” material aimed at educating the entrepreneur on finance and business management to enable them to become finance ready.