How African Bank Business and Commercial helped Pace Car Rental nearly double in growth in 18 months

Funding for more vehicles supported three new branches and close to 100 jobs, showing how access to business funding can turn demand into growth.

At six in the morning, a rented bakkie may already be carrying a plumber’s tools towards the first callout of the day.

Transport is the third largest household expense. Statistics South Africa estimates that households spent R467 billion on transport in 2022/23, accounting for 15.3% of total consumption expenditure.

For a business, mobility determines how many customers can be reached, how much equipment can be carried and which contracts can be accepted. That relationship between movement, income and growth sits at the centre of African Bank’s Business and Commercial funding partnership with Pace Car Rental.

Pace had built demand for cars, bakkies, insurance replacement vehicles and flexible business fleets. Its next stage depended on acquiring enough vehicles to serve waiting customers.

Pace managing director Grenville Salmon describes the pressure of running a fleet business as a cycle in which one shortage quickly gives way to another.

“You find yourself short of funding, then once you’ve arranged the funding, you find yourself short of vehicles, and then once you’ve got the vehicles, you find yourself short of customers,” he says.

“You know, your head’s always down and you don’t have time to plan.”

African Bank provided business finance that gave Pace room to increase its fleet and respond to demand that had begun to exceed its capacity.

“What was nice with the African Bank deal was that we found ourselves in a position where we could take bigger steps because we weren’t stuck in this constant spiral,” Salmon says.

Within 18 months, Pace nearly doubled the size of its business, opened three branches and created close to 100 jobs. Its fleet has grown to more than 5 000 vehicles, while the company now employs over 300 people.

A rental company buys vehicles before they begin earning income and carries operating costs while revenue is collected over time. Pace had the customers and the experience to manage a larger operation. It needed capital to expand without weakening daily operations.

Zweli Manyathi, Interim GCEO at African Bank, says business finance has to begin with a clear understanding of that commercial reality.

“Entrepreneurs often reach a point where the market is ready for the business to grow, while the asset required to serve that market remains out of reach,” says Manyathi.

“Pace had built demand and developed the operating discipline required to manage a larger fleet. Our role was to understand how the company earns, where growth was being held back and how finance could support expansion without weakening its daily operations.”

African Bank is strengthening its Business and Commercial division. In the six months to March 2026, advances in the division increased by 10% and made the largest contribution to growth in the Group’s advances.

That growth returns the Bank to its founding purpose. African Bank grew from black business leaders’ demand for institutions willing to take entrepreneurs seriously. Today, that purpose finds expression in businesses whose growth depends on capital and productive assets.

“When I first heard of African Bank offering business finance, I had misconceptions about it,” Salmon says. “Their team was great, the service was great, and it really has been quite a smooth journey with African Bank.”

Salmon’s account matters because it comes from a business owner who entered the relationship with doubts and judged the Bank through its service, commercial understanding and the growth that followed.

The funding increased Pace’s capacity to serve its own customers, while the wider economic value travels through the people and businesses using the vehicles. Salmon calls this “local impact financing”.

“By funding businesses like ours, who rent vehicles to plumbers, electricians, couriers, Uber drivers and grassroots businesspeople, they have created jobs and mobility solutions for our customers,” he says.

A vehicle may generate income for a driver, carry equipment to a building site or give a company the capacity required to begin a contract. Pace earns rental revenue and employs the people who manage and maintain the fleet.

The company began in a family garage with one vehicle. Twenty years later, it manages a fleet that moves through the working lives of thousands of customers.

African Bank’s funding gave Pace room to plan beyond its next shortage and act on the demand it had spent years building. The company gained vehicles, branches and employees, while more of its customers gained the means to reach work, deliver services and pursue their own growth.

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Sunday World

African Bank’s business funding partnership with Pace Car Rental enabled the company to nearly double its fleet size to over 5,000 vehicles, open three new branches, and create close to 100 jobs within 18 months.
Transport expenses accounted for R467 billion in household spending in 2022/23, highlighting the critical role of mobility in both personal and business growth.
Pace faced cyclical challenges of shortages in funding, vehicles, and customers, which were alleviated through African Bank’s tailored business finance allowing strategic growth beyond immediate constraints.
African Bank’s Business and Commercial division grew its advances by 10% in six months to March 2026, emphasizing its commitment to supporting entrepreneurial growth through capital and asset financing.
By funding Pace, African Bank helped facilitate “local impact financing” that supports grassroots businesses like plumbers, electricians, and couriers, driving job creation, increased mobility, and economic activity.

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