On the back of two major interest rate hikes in the first half of 2022 alone and rapidly rising costs, business owners across the country are keeping a close eye on budgets and cash flow where every cent counts. As champions of financial inclusion and SME growth in South Africa, local fintech Hello Pay is offering merchants, and micro and small enterprises access to competitive, commercially attractive, business loans of up to R250,000 to grow their businesses.
The Hello Pay Business Loan is part of Hello Pay’s newly launched Business Solution – an all-in-one suite of services created to enable growth, save costs and give small business owners access to key financial services.
“SMEs and entrepreneurship are often mentioned as an antidote to South Africa’s economic woes, yet very little is offered in practical terms to assist fledgling companies with access to funding to grow,” says Zunaid Miya, Managing Director of Hello Pay.
Now any entrepreneur, whether they own a spaza shop, beauty salon, delivery service or street kiosk can get the funds they need to expand their operations by investing in vehicles, stock or other assets. Miya says this approach is a necessary departure from funding being extended to consumers for consumption purposes, which only adds to more people becoming caught in a permanent debt trap.
“Extending competitive loans so entrepreneurs and SMEs can deploy those funds towards income-generating assets and activities which ultimately leads to the alleviation of poverty and wealth creation is something which Hello Pay is proud to lead.”
Hello Pay offers loans from R30,000 to R250,000. In addition, loans are Shari’ah compliant and competitively priced. Loans are not limited to Muslim merchants and are available to anyone who wants to grow their business. Business owners can pay back the loan for up to a 12-month period.
“We are giving businesses the support they really need to grow their businesses into sustainable and successful enterprises. Given the enormous obstacles SMEs face, Hello Pay is proud to play a part in connecting thousands of deserving businesses with excellent financial services so that they can focus on running their businesses and providing millions of South Africans with necessary goods and services,” Miya explains.
How to qualify for the Hello Pay Business Loan:
- Become an active Hello Pay merchant
- Swipe more than R15,000 per month for at least three months
Other benefits of the Hello Pay Business Solution include:
- A fully fledged bank account issued with a Visa debit card
- Business cover from as little as R60 per month
- 24-hour armed response for just R2 a day
- The ability to pay staff salaries or remit money home using Hello Paisa
- Transaction rates as low as 1,2 percent
- An online portal to keep digital records instead of hassling with loads of paper
Miya says that entrepreneurs and small businesses are tasked with the massive responsibility of reviving the economy and creating millions of new jobs.
“We owe it to them to create an enabling business environment. Providing practical and meaningful financial support is a good place to start. Hello Pay has been at the forefront of enabling entrepreneurs in various sectors of the economy; firstly by providing innovative payment solutions which have now grown to include an end-to-end suite of benefits that are specifically tailored to meet the needs of our market,” says Miya.