/ 17 September 2013

Financing a concern for small business

Forty eight percent of small business owners believe that it is 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 important trends and insights for small business owners to help grow and nurture their future business.

Participants listed affordability, strict qualification criteria, poor understanding of finance requirements and general apathy as factors that play 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.

In addition, 31% thought it was very affordable over the 14% who believed it was not.

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.

Information on government incentives, venture capitalist funding and private investors needs to be more accessible.

Where did you obtain financial support from?
Approaching the relevant financier may also affect the chances of success, with finace 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.