SME TradeLinks, the fast growing small business development specialist established by Dr. Salifou Siddo, the former CEO of the Tourism Enterprise Partnership (TEP), is pleased to announce that it has entered into a strategic partnership with newly launched fintech company FundingHub to drive lending into the South African SME sector.

SME TradeLinks provides enterprise and supplier development (ESD) services, small business incubation, and Access to Finance.

FundingHub, is a South African online credit marketplace aimed at SMEs that require funding to grow and expand their businesses.

The website is easy to use and, by asking a prospective borrower to answer a few questions about the finances of the business, it is able to match him or her to the appropriate lenders. It will then be up to the prospective borrower to select the lender or lenders that meet their needs best and the lenders will then provide quotes.

There are currently 10 lenders on the platform all of whom are trusted and reputable including lenders such as Nedbank, Retail Capital, Lulalend and Transaction Capital.

In order to qualify to borrow, an SME will need to demonstrate a minimum trading history of 6 months and an annual turnover of at least R1 million. There are no minimums or maximums in terms of the amount that an SME can borrow.

Through this partnership with FundingHub, SME TradeLinks clients now have access to a variety of financial products including:

• Equipment Finance;
• Debtor Finance;
• Bridge Finance;
• Purchase Order Finance;
• Secured Loans;
• Unsecured Loans;
• Merchant Cash Advance;
• Line of Credit;
• Overdrafts and Credit Cards.

Says Dr Salifou Siddo, the SME TradeLinks Chief Executive: “This partnership with FundingHub is an important milestone for us as it allows us to bring on stream our Access to Finance activities in an extremely efficient manner. Because the platform is technology driven, there is no reliance on long and complicated paper based application forms. Also, because the platform is a marketplace of lenders, it stimulates competition and provides SME borrowers variety and choice.”

Barry Leonard Co-Founder of FundingHub had the following to say: “We are excited about our partnership with SME TradeLinks as it is aligned with our vision of developing and growing South African SME’s.”

For more information please visit www.smetradelinks.co.za and click on the “Get Funding” button. Direct all enquiries to info@smetradelinks.co.za