Africa | February 27, 2019

South Africa’s Sasfin takes a stake in Payabill’s small-business lending platform

Jessica Pothering
ImpactAlpha Editor

Jessica Pothering

ImpactAlpha, February 26 – South African financial services firm Sasfin has acquired an undisclosed share of Payabill, a digital lender that provides working capital loans to help small businesses manage cashflow.

Inability to predict or manage the cash required for incoming and outgoing payments is one of the biggest reasons small businesses fail. Payabill was started in 2017 to help businesses manage their bills and pay suppliers and vendors. It also offers low-cost working capital loans of up to 150,000 South African rand ($10,800) for companies that have been up and running for at least a year.

Sasfin’s equity investment in Payabill is part of the bank’s strategy to boost its digital financial services. The injection of capital will help Payabill offer larger loans and access a bigger base of small business clients.

In November, London-based Fluidly raised a £5 million ($6.5 million) Series A round for its small business cash flow forecasting software.