Profitable but unprepared: Report exposes bankability gap in SA’s small businesses
Many profitable enterprises lack the financial systems and planning needed to secure funding and grow.
South Africa's small business sector is grappling with a critical issue that extends beyond financial access: a significant gap in the financial readiness of many profitable enterprises, a challenge known as the "bankability gap". According to a new report by MSME development specialist Fetola, while a majority of small businesses are commercially active, they frequently fail to meet the financial standards required by lenders and investors.
The research, which analyzed financial verification data from 177 growth-oriented firms across all nine provinces, revealed that 86.6% of these businesses are sustainable in terms of sales and 76.8% are profitable. However, only 34.7% produce credible management reports and just 13.3% can provide a 12-month budget. This discrepancy between profitability and financial readiness, termed the "bankability gap" by Catherine Wijnberg, CEO of Fetola, highlights the need for businesses to develop robust financial systems, planning, and management disciplines long before seeking funding.
The report also points out that despite profitability, half of the assessed businesses face cash-flow pressure, underscoring the importance of financial planning. The research emphasizes that improving access to finance should be accompanied by practical support to strengthen financial records, management accounts, budgeting, cash-flow forecasting, and internal controls, as without these, even profitable MSMEs may remain excluded from growth opportunities.
Brief written by urgent.news from The Citizen's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
