A South African financier, recently recognised as a top small business funder, has pointed to fragmented access and a damaging public perception of state tenders as critical barriers preventing small businesses from growing, despite their essential role in the economy.
Sourcefin, named the National Funder of the Year at the NSBC Top 20 South African Small Business Awards, has deployed more than R2.6-billion to over 1, 000 small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) since 2020. The company provides financing against invoices and purchase orders, primarily for businesses securing public sector contracts.
Legitimate businesses unfairly tainted
However, CEO and co-founder Joshua Kadish stated that financing is only part of the challenge. He argued that the term “tenderpreneur”, often associated with corruption, unfairly taints thousands of legitimate businesses.
“The vast majority of business owners that rely on tenders are honest and hard-working entrepreneurs. They are committed to delivering on their promises,” Kadish said. “Discrediting the entire system does more harm than good. Particularly to entrepreneurs trying to grow sustainable businesses.”
A major operational hurdle, the company says, is the difficulty SMMEs face in finding tender opportunities. Information is scattered across multiple government portals. And it is often outdated or hidden behind subscription fees.
In response, Sourcefin developed TenderCentral, a free digital platform that aggregates tenders from national, provincial, and municipal sources into a single searchable database.
Jordan Hertz, Chief Commercial Officer at Sourcefin, said the platform aims to democratise access.
Limited access fuels narrative
“The negative stigma surrounding tenders is often amplified by access preserved for the few,” Hertz said.
“TenderCentral provides simple and practical access to the businesses that public procurement is meant to support.”
The company’s dual focus on funding and access comes amid continued collaboration between key agencies. These are fintechs, private lenders, and government institutions to address South Africa’s persistent SMME funding gap.
Experts consistently cite access to finance and market opportunity as the two largest constraints on small business growth and job creation in the country.
