Absa Bank has won South Africa’s Best Bank for SMEs at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2024.
In 2023, Absa increased sales in the small and medium-sized enterprise segment by 48%.
The bank introduced Absa Business She Thrives and Absa Emerging Entrepreneur, solutions for women and youth business owners to address challenges such as access to finance and skill development. These initiatives include a six-month fee waiver on new Business Evolve accounts, a 0% initiation fee on working capital funding, alternative lending up to R5 million ($166,000) through the Enterprise Development programme, a discount of up to 35% on short-term insurance premiums, and free membership to the National Small Business Chamber.
The bank also improved its Enterprise and Supplier Development proposition to boost SME financial inclusion. The new credit policy evaluates SMEs based on expected contract cashflows and allows them to draw funds as needed, with interest accruing only on drawn amounts.