This month we chat to Daniel Goldberg, Co-Founder and CEO at Bridgement, a company that offers simple credit facilities for small businesses, 100% online. Started by a group of data scientists and engineers who are passionate about helping their customers grow, Bridgement’s goal is to use technology and data to bring a new approach to business finance in South Africa.

Describe yourself in 3 words.

1. Innovative
2. Ambitious
3. Resourceful

How would you describe the typical Bridgement customer?

Our typical customers are;

● small to medium-sized businesses in South Africa
● Most of our clients have 1-20 employees and do between R2-20-Million revenue per year
● We have clients in almost every industry sector, and in every province

How is Bridgement different from traditional banks?

Bridgement offers an online, paperless application. Through our online platform and extremely simple application process, it takes just 2 minutes to apply allowing us to offer a decision on funding within 24 hours. One of the key differences is that we have created the capability for customers to connect their accounting or bank accounts to eliminate the need for mountains of documents and paperwork. Bridgement is currently the only SME credit provider to integrate into the top three accounting packages (Xero, Sage, Quickbooks), offering a simple and seamless experience for customers.

Typically with traditional business loans, it would require lengthy forms and a lot of paperwork to be submitted as supporting documentation. This would take days to weeks to complete and potentially months to finalise.

With a Bridgement facility, there is also no fee to apply, and customers have absolute control over when and how much they would like to withdraw, with no obligation to use their facility until they need it. Further to that, there are no initiation or ongoing monthly fees and Bridgement believes in rewarding customers who settle early with a discount, instead of charging early settlement penalties.

What are the main requirements for a business to be approved for a Bridgement loan?

Our minimum requirements are:

● A registered business in South Africa
● Trading for at least 6 months
● An annual turnover of R500,000+

Which are the main industries that make up your client base (or is it very widely spread out?)

Our customer base is quite broad, and we fund businesses in every industry sector, across South Africa

How have the past two years (with Covid and lockdowns) changed the business funding landscape?

We’ve seen banks continue to reduce funding to small businesses as the knock-on effect of a suppressed economy, post covid, continues – a time when our country’s SMEs need them most. This has opened up the landscape for FinTech players who offer a critical role in funding businesses when banks reduce risk appetite and liquidity dries up. We’ve seen this drastically in the sheer volume of applications we’ve received as well as the search trends for funding online. Last year alone we processed applications totalling R7 billion in funding requests.

As a B2B business, what marketing channels do you mainly rely on to find new customers?

We use an omnichannel approach both to find new customers and to remarket to existing or old customers. There is not one single platform that we would single out as something we were reliant on, as there are many different strategies and uses for channels – such as first driving awareness and then conversion.

Your view on the future landscape for online businesses in South Africa?

Businesses are becoming increasingly aware of alternative options (other than their bank) when it comes to business funding. I foresee significant growth in the alternative finance space for SMEs, as more and more business owners learn about reliable, often better alternatives and get more comfort transacting online.

The thing I love most about what I do…

…is helping businesses grow, assisting in job creation and ultimately growing SA’s economy.

When I’m not working, I’m…

…playing in the park with my dog, Leo.

CONNECT ONLINE

Website: www.bridgement.com
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/bridgement/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BridgementZA/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/bridgement_za/