South African-based iKhokha, a fintech startup which currently provides a mobile app and card machine to more than 2500 small and medium formal and informal businesses in SA, has launched cash advance services in a move to widen its offering to merchants.
Working with Retail Capital as its financing partner for iKhokha cash advance service, iKhokha aims to simplify the loans process for SME’s in South Africa at low interest rates.
iKhokha managing director, Matt Putman says, “We have always wanted to help solve the real challenges which face South African entrepreneurs and we know from working closely with them that their number one issue is access to capital.”
Even for the select few SME businesses that could qualify for a bank loan, a standard loan has a number of limitations in that it’s complicated, requires exhaustive documentation, the entrepreneur often needs to provide personal security as well as needing to commit to pay off a set amount each month over a fixed time period irrespective of normal fluctuations in his cashflow.
To test interest in the product, iKhokha offered only 250 of its merchants a cash advance and was surprised by the demand. They disbursed more than R500 000 worth of cash advances within the first week with an average deal size of R19 000 per advance.
“The majority of our merchants do not qualify for a formal bank loan as they are seen as too risky by traditional institutions, in fact our partner data shows up to 80% of SME finance applications are not matched by banks in SA and yet these businesses are healthy and in need of finance to grow. It has serious repercussions for our economy if they don’t get the support they need. That really worries us, hence the development of cash advance,” said Putman.
Applying for an iKhokha cash advance is simplified to three online mobile clicks. The merchant opens the iKhokha app, reviews his custom cash advance offer, selects how much he requires and selects the targeted repayment period and agrees to the transparent fixed fees. Once accepted, the money is deposited into his account within 24 hours.
iKhokha already knows the merchant’s trading history and therefore no additional paperwork or security is required. After the loan advance, iKhokha automatically deducts a fixed percentage on each processed card transaction, so the merchant’s repayments are linked to his monthly business performance.
The cash advance capital cost is capped upfront, at a percentage of the capital amount taken and does not increase irrespective of how long it takes to pay back. The better the business does, the quicker the amount is paid off. On the flip side, if business is slow, cash flow is not crippled.
All active iKhokha business owners that have been trading for more than three months will be eligible for a cash advance and it is customised based on each merchant’s trading history. iKhokha is evolving into more than just a provider of mobile card machines and payment acceptance for SMEs. The firm says its expanding to fill the finance gap and assist SMEs in their journey to full digital and financial inclusion.
