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FORTY EIGHT PERCENT of small business owners believe that it is currently very difficult to obtain finance. This insight emerged from the second wave of results from surveys undertaken by Nedbank to develop a robust Small Business Index™.
The index offers much-needed and easy-to-understand trends and insights to the local small business owner to help grow and nurture their future business.
Respondents of the survey listed affordability, strict qualification criteria, poor understanding of finance requirements and general apathy as factors that played a role in making finance difficult to obtain. On a scale of ‘very difficult’ to ‘very easy’, only 18% of business owners felt that finance was very easy to obtain, with 35% remaining neutral on the matter.
Also interesting to note was that, of the 47% of small businesses that tried to apply for finance, 64% of them were successful.
It seems that small businesses are more likely than not to get the finance they need, if they go through the process of applying for finance. In addition, 31% of the businesses that did obtain finance thought it was very affordable.
The fact that 82% of acquired finance came from commercial banks is a possible indication that small business owners are not aware of alternative sources and information on government incentives, venture capitalist funding and private investors needs to be more accessible.
Approaching the relevant financier may also affect the chances of success, with finance opportunities differing by industry.
For more trends and insights, visit www.SimplyBiz.co.za, or join the conversations on Twitter and Facebook using the hashtag #SASmallBusinessIndex.
The index offers much-needed and easy-to-understand trends and insights to the local small business owner to help grow and nurture their future business.
Respondents of the survey listed affordability, strict qualification criteria, poor understanding of finance requirements and general apathy as factors that played a role in making finance difficult to obtain. On a scale of ‘very difficult’ to ‘very easy’, only 18% of business owners felt that finance was very easy to obtain, with 35% remaining neutral on the matter.
Also interesting to note was that, of the 47% of small businesses that tried to apply for finance, 64% of them were successful.
It seems that small businesses are more likely than not to get the finance they need, if they go through the process of applying for finance. In addition, 31% of the businesses that did obtain finance thought it was very affordable.
The fact that 82% of acquired finance came from commercial banks is a possible indication that small business owners are not aware of alternative sources and information on government incentives, venture capitalist funding and private investors needs to be more accessible.
Approaching the relevant financier may also affect the chances of success, with finance opportunities differing by industry.
For more trends and insights, visit www.SimplyBiz.co.za, or join the conversations on Twitter and Facebook using the hashtag #SASmallBusinessIndex.
