Financial technology business ProfitShare Partners has received R25-million in funding from First National Bank’s (FNB's) Vumela Fund to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in need of capital to supply essentials to combat the spread of Covid-19.

Since the start of the lockdown in South Africa, the business has partnered with SMEs to supply essential items such as hand sanitisers, face masks and other medical and protective supplies to both public and private health facilities.

ProfitShare says the latest R25-million in funding will enable the business to partner with more SMEs which are in the business of supplying ventilators, filters, nebulisers, nebulising agents, hospital beds, oxygen, medical protective wear and bulk supplies of disinfectants and sanitisers.

“We have prioritised these unusual deals in support of the fight against coronavirus.

“A sufficient supply of these essentials for medical workers and our people will be important in the coming weeks, which is why we want to help support and provide capital to local SMEs who are working tirelessly to meet the demands to produce these essential items during this period,” says ProfitShare CEO Andrew Maren.

“While FNB is already providing assistance and support to businesses on multiple fronts during this crisis, the Vumela Fund enables the bank to provide further support to early stage SMEs that would not otherwise qualify for traditional lending products.

“Vumela’s partnership with ProfitShare has already benefitted several SMEs and we are pleased to be able to extend this to providers of essential items,” comments FNB structured finance solutions co-head and Vumela Fund trustee Mike Sage.

Venture fund manager Edge Growth, as the manager of the Vumela Fund, will also collaborate with FNB and the fund to provide a Covid-19 Leadership Toolkit, which will be a freely available end-to-end field guide for founders and their teams to lead through this crisis.