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SMEs bank on easy access to money

Johannesburg - About 30% of small business owners that took part in the SME Growth Index Research, the biggest study of the SME sector in South Africa, believe their chances of accessing finance from local financial institutions would be increased this year.

This is according to Chris Darroll, the CEO of SPB, research specialists that conducted the research, which is a multi-year project meant to launch a robust understanding of South Africa’s SMEs.

At least 500 SMEs took part in the study.

“Most business owners report that there has been no deterioration in their ability to access finance in 2013. Their optimism is supported by the World Bank’s latest Doing Business report, which ranks South Africa among the top global performers in terms of access to credit”, Darroll said.

The slow growth in the number of successful SMEs in South Africa had been blamed squarely on the lack of financial backing from the country’s banks.

However, the latest SME Growth Index suggests that South African banks could have bought into the idea of increasing financial assistance to the small businesses.

According to the SME Growth Index, a great number of South African SMEs have been able to access funds to start businesses when they needed them.  

“The large majority of applicants were successful - well over two-thirds of overdraft and credit applications were granted in full, as were over 75% of loans,” Darroll said.


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