THE WESTERN CAPE GOVERNMENT PARTNERS WITH FINFIND
– to tackle MSMEs access funding at scale
Cape Town; 06 August 2026: The Western Cape Government, through its Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT), has partnered with Finfind to strengthen access to finance for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across the province.
Finfind is South Africa’s leading online access to finance solution, automating the matching of MSMEs finance seekers with the right business funders. Finfind has an up-to-date funder database of over 300 government, bank and private funders with more than 600 finance products including all the debt, equity, grants, incentives and asset funding (leasing and rental) offerings available to MSMEs in the country.
This free fund-matching service to MSMEs will be available via the Department’s website, giving Western Cape businesses easy access to a smarter, simpler way to access finance options that meet their specific needs.
“This partnership creates an opportunity to help MSMEs across the Western Cape to find the right finance option and importantly, to get information about what the funder needs from them to qualify for the funding,” says Darlene Menzies, CEO of Finfind. “Most entrepreneurs don’t know where to start when it comes to funding – they don’t know who the funders are or which finance products match their needs. The Western Cape government is addressing this challenge for this vital sector through our partnership”.
MSME funding demand in the Western Cape
Funding data shows that more than 80% of businesses in the Western Cape that apply for finance have an annual turnover of less than R1m and are responsible for over 80% of full-time employment in the MSME sector, yet they are the most underserved. If we are serious about job creation, we must invest our efforts in supporting the businesses that are creating the jobs
This data analysis, drawn from Finfind’s nationally representative dataset underpinning the SA MSME Access to Finance Report 2025, that was launched in partnership with the Department of Small Business Development, African Bank and Experian in 2025.
Key Western Cape funding demand-side insights include:
- 83.2% of MSMEs applying for funding in the province have a turnover of under R1 million per annum, these formal business entities account for 83,1% of the permanent jobs in the Western Cape.
- 51,5 of MSMEs applying for funding are more than 3 years old.
- 52.2% have no collateral available.
- 65,3 % are not able to provide their latest Annual Financial Statements, with
- 63.4% report having no formal accounting system – a key barrier to document-heavy requirements from bank and DFI lending models.
What the partnership enables
Under the agreement, the Department will place an “APPLY FOR FUNDING” button on its website and route MSMEs to an easy onboarding journey towards the goal of being matched with a funder and accessing the information needed to ensure finance readiness.
The Finfind online platform, a proudly South African innovation, ensures that the business owner and company data for the funding applicant is verified with the Department of Home Affairs, and the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC).
Strengthening the province-wide ecosystem
The agreement also provides for departmental co-ordination of engagements between Finfind, the City of Cape Town, and the Western Cape’s five District Municipalities, to extend access-to-finance enablement more broadly across province wide government touchpoints.
According to Dr Ivan Meyer, Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism, “the Western Cape Government remains committed to providing an enabling environment for growing our MSMEs. For this reason, I have identified business support as one of my core priority areas in my portfolio as Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism. Partnerships like this strengthens our ability to connect MSMEs with practical support that directly enables growth. By making a credible access-to-finance pathway available through the Department’s digital channels, we are reducing barriers and helping more businesses take the next step towards funding and potential expansion.
