2020 · Where it began
Sourcefin is founded during Covid-19. The first SMME is enabled when Refilwe delivers R823 000 of supplies to a provincial hospital.
About Sourcefin
We back potential, not paperwork.
Sourcefin is South Africa’s alternative-funding partner for the forgotten SMME – the businesses too new, too small or too different for the traditional funders to notice. We look at where a business can go, not only where it has been, and back the opportunity in front of it.
Who is Sourcefin?
Sourcefin is South Africa’s alternative-funding partner for the forgotten SMME – the businesses too new, too small or too different for traditional funders to back. Founded in 2020, it provides purchase order, invoice and tender funding by backing the opportunity in front of a business rather than its credit history.
In five years Sourcefin has deployed more than R3 billion to over 2 000 South African SMMEs, with a 100% delivery rate on funded deals. It is the NSBC National Funder Award winner, backed by a R150 million Futuregrowth investment, and named among Africa’s fastest-growing companies by the Financial Times and Statista.
R3bn+
deployed to SMMEs
0
SMMEs enabled
0%
delivery on funded deals
2020
founded in a crisis
Our story
Born in the heart of a crisis.
Sourcefin was founded in 2020, as Covid-19 gripped South Africa. Small businesses – the backbone of the economy – needed funding fast, and many had nowhere to turn in time. The hustling SMME with a real opportunity had been forgotten.
In that moment, one of our founders chartered a plane from China carrying desperately needed medical supplies. Word spread fast, and within hours the warehouse was full of SMME owners with purchase orders in hand, ready to supply hospitals and frontline staff – but without the funds to do it.
That revealed a deeper truth: entrepreneurs did not just need stock. They needed trust, support, and a financial partner willing to back their potential.
The first deal
It came from Refilwe, a young entrepreneur with a government purchase order to supply a provincial hospital. She had the order, but not the funding to deliver on it. With her options exhausted, she arrived at Sourcefin as a last resort.
Our small team flew into action – engaging her supplier, negotiating a discount, and securing an extension on delivery. They protected her reputation, saved the deal, and gave her business a real shot at growth: R823 000 of supplies delivered to a hospital that needed them.
That single deal proved what we had believed all along. The model works – not just on paper, but for real SMMEs with real opportunities.
Why we exist
Born to enable the forgotten SMME.
The forgotten SMMEs are the entrepreneurs with opportunities but no support to seize them – the underserved backbone of our economy, and the reason Sourcefin exists. Here is how we back them.
Open-minded, future-focused funding
We do not only look at where a business has been. By backing opportunities and potential rather than rigid credit histories, we unlock doors that others keep shut.
A partner for growth
Our role does not end when the funding is approved. We walk side by side with our clients along the value chain, from procurement to delivery. When they grow, so do we.
Impact that multiplies
Every deal goes beyond the entrepreneur. It fuels families, supports employees, strengthens communities and contributes to South Africa’s growth.
What we stand for
The values we fund by.
These are not what we hope to live by – they are how we show up with clients, and how we move when things do not go to plan.
Integrity and transparency
We do the right thing – acting fairly, honestly and responsibly, even when it is slower or harder.
Accountability
We own the deal end to end. What we commit to, we see through.
Service-driven
We serve with excellence, treating every client’s opportunity with the respect it deserves.
Solution-oriented
We solve, we do not pass the problem on. When the path is not obvious, we find one.
Continuity
We build for the long term – relationships and businesses meant to last, not once-off transactions.
Courage and respect
We challenge boldly and respectfully, and we root for the underdog every time.
Our highlights reel
From one deal to billions.
What began with a single handshake grew into South Africa’s leading alternative funder – one deal at a time.
2021 · A second product
Invoice funding launches, turning unpaid invoices into cash. An early eight-figure deal helps keep hospitals running.
2022 · Scaling impact
An R88.3 million rollout delivers satellite infrastructure to communities across South Africa, alongside the first public-sector partnership.
2023 · Recognised
Our CEO and Sourcefin win a Forty Under 40 award for contribution to South Africa’s financial sector.
2024 · Backed to grow
Futuregrowth invests R150 million, and Sourcefin is named Entrepreneur of the Year – fuel for the next chapter.
2025–26 · Leading the way
A first cross-border deal in Eswatini, the NSBC National Funder Award, and a place on the FT and Statista list of Africa’s fastest-growing companies.
From our founders
Meet the leadership team →
The people who started it.
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Everything starts with deep empathy for the entrepreneur. We back real people solving real problems, and when they succeed, jobs are created, communities grow, and the economy strengthens from the ground up. That is our why.
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We are not just funders – we are partners. Every decision we make can profoundly impact people’s lives, and we treat that responsibility with accuracy, urgency and care.
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Every decision we make, every system we build and every deal we fund starts with one question: what does the client need to succeed? Their growth is our mission. When they win, we all win.
Awards & recognition
All awards & press →
Recognised for backing real businesses.
NSBC National Funder Award
Recognising funders who go beyond capital to grow South Africa’s SMMEs.
Africa’s fastest-growing companies 2026
Named by the Financial Times and Statista among the continent’s fastest-growing companies.
Forty Under 40
Leadership recognition for driving SMME funding and growth across the country.
R150 million Futuregrowth investment
Institutional backing that fuels more funding for more South African SMMEs.
Got a deal that needs backing?
It is free to apply, and there is no commitment until you draw down. If you have the opportunity, let us help you deliver on it.