Are you ready to reach for the stars

Africa’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) face various challenges across their supply chains, causing many to falter. Insufficient working capital and logistics inefficiencies, however, have met their match …

Aions Ventures has partnered with Proudly South African to bring its USKO trade finance solution to Proudly SA members, giving small businesses streamlined access to short-term purchase order (PO) funding, invoice discounting, revolving credit and early payout advances so they can accept and fulfil larger orders with confidence.

The move targets one of the most persistent bottlenecks in South Africa’s supply chains: many MSMEs reach the point where they can win orders from corporates and government, but they cannot fulfil them because their cash flow has not caught up with demand. The result is a cycle in which businesses with real capability lose work to better-capitalised competitors.

Unlike traditional lenders that charge interest no matter what, USKO only earns a share of the profit once a deal is completed. For example, if a purchase order is worth R1.5 million and the supplier costs are R1 million, the R500,000 profit is shared with USKO, which takes an agreed portion after the order is fulfilled and paid.

Approval times vary by deal size and checks required, but are often finalised within a few days. Kerryn Campion, COO at Aions Ventures, says the model offers a practical alternative to traditional finance that has long overlooked emerging suppliers.

For Proudly SA, the partnership strengthens its ability to support local suppliers end-to-end. While MSMEs have historically relied on banks or development finance institutions for funding, few have been successful and many have fallen out of corporate pipelines as a result. Integrating USKO directly addresses that drop-off. Proudly SA members will be able to apply for PO funding or invoice discounting within the environment where they already source opportunities, rather than being pushed to external lenders.

Eustace Mashimbye, CEO of Proudly SA, says the partnership with USKO strengthens its ability to support its members, particularly MSMEs, with the financial support they require to help them turn opportunities into deliverables.

“The partnership with USKO gives expression to our mandate of supporting home-grown companies that produce their goods locally to scale up and create jobs, by providing a viable and cost-effective financing mechanism that facilitates access to finance and plugs the cash flow gaps that plague many emerging enterprises,” says Mashimbye.

“The partnership with USKO comes at an opportune time for Proudly South African and its members, following the introduction of our B2B procurement platform, the Market Access Platform (MAP) and its integration into National Treasury’s central supplier database (CSD). We believe that this partnership will help to address the funding gaps that some of our members face, and it will go a long way to greatly enhance our value proposition to existing and prospective members.”

Accessing capital is only half the battle for MSMEs striving to scale despite these businesses being the driving force behind the continent’s economy. They create jobs, drive innovation and move trade, but growth often hits a logistics roadblock.

According to Nelson Teixeira, managing director of operations for Sub-Saharan Africa at FedEx, the South African logistics industry is at a critical juncture where improved infrastructure, technology and bureaucracy are vital to ensure the continent’s success as a global logistics player. “Many SMEs striving to reach regional or international markets see every shipment as a potential challenge,” he says. “Missed deadlines mean lost sales and extra costs pile up. Customers, and the economy in general, get frustrated.”

With evolving customer expectations for on-time deliveries, transparency and reliability, there is a need for both government and industry to modernise logistics operations in order to strengthen international trade.

Fortunately, digital tools are starting to level the playing field. “Real-time tracking lets businesses know exactly where shipments are,” says Teixeira. “Online customs platforms reduce errors and speed up approvals. Flexible delivery options give SMEs more control. Now you get less uncertainty, faster trade and endless opportunities for small businesses.”

Affordable and reliable delivery networks are another game-changer. Where MSMEs may have historically struggled to reach regional or global customers, they can now expand without inflating delivery costs. Digital platforms and integrated networks allow them to compete with bigger firms on speed, service and reliability – a fact that Teixeira believes will continue to transform this sector.

However, challenges are in no way uniform across the continent. Landlocked countries face longer transit times and higher costs, while sectors like perishable goods and e-commerce face unique pressures. Addressing these sector-specific issues requires both flexible delivery networks and targeted digital solutions.

The takeaway is simple: the current logistics landscape on the continent doesn’t have to be a barrier. With the right provider and smarter supply chains, African MSMEs will fuel the continent’s next wave of economic growth.

Combined with innovative financing solutions like USKO that address the capital constraints holding back capable businesses, Africa’s MSMEs now have access to complementary tools that tackle both sides of the growth equation – securing the funding to fulfil orders and ensuring those goods reach customers efficiently and on time.