Telkom division Yellow Pages and fintech Fundrr have partnered to offer loans to small businesses and provide support packages that help develop their online visibility and grow their sales and branding into new markets.
The collaboration will enable the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by unlocking access to working capital, as well as marketing and online support.
“One of the biggest challenges for small businesses is access to funding, so we have teamed up with an alternative fintech lender for SMEs – Fundrr – to round off our offering by providing a holistic support package,” says Telkom Business Yep and Yellow Pages CEO Lunga Siyo.
Fundrr provides a quick turnaround on business loan applications, with the application and onboarding completed online in under eight minutes and responses and decisions provided within 24 hours.
Funding is typically used to buy stock, open new stores, purchase equipment, undertake renovations or expand the business.
“We realised that new and innovative ways to evaluate small businesses for credit are needed. “So few SMEs actually qualify for funding and there is a desperate demand for financial assistance, particularly during this pandemic,” explains Fundrr CEO Idan Jaan.
Further, he notes that there is insufficient government support available and many banks lack the appetite or understanding to underwrite small businesses, while the copious amount of paperwork and long turnaround times preclude small businesses from accessing the working capital they require.
The fintech uses technological innovation and automated models to provide quick and efficient loans to small businesses.
“We developed an automated credit model that analyses close to 100 data points that include data sources, such as social media presence and online marketing presence, to provide a more complete picture of a small business and its growth possibilities,” he says.
The various data inputs produce a Fundrr Score that serves as the basis to provide loans to small businesses ranging from R20 000 to R500 000; however, businesses will only qualify for the loan if they have not had any judgement, default or debt reviews in the past.
The company offers tailor-made repayment structures that enable daily, weekly, bimonthly or monthly basis payback options, depending on the SME’s cashflow.
“We analyse the cashflow patterns of the business and recommend a repayment structure that best suits their income – either daily, weekly, bimonthly or monthly over a 3- to 12-month period,” says Jaan, noting that the rates of interest vary, depending on the strength of the business and lower risk businesses can expect to pay lower rates.
Fundrr also offers an early repayment incentive and specifies the amount of the loan, the duration and the total amount to be repaid upfront with no hidden fees.
Further, if the SME is not yet a Telkom Business or Yellow Pages client, but would like to be, Fundrr will pay for successful applicants’ first six months of a Yellow Mystart subscription, which will help the business to gain online traffic, increase its turnover through online revenue streams, improve search engine optimisation and increase their social media presence.