A Letter from Our CEO: When Times Are Tough, Let Your Values Guide You

When we started Merchant Capital seven years ago, our approach was shaped by our experiences as entrepreneurs in South Africa. We understood the significant funding challenges faced by small businesses. As a result, our founding principle became to support small businesses in both good times and bad.

The challenges currently confronting the South African small business sector are monumental. While the full impact of the coronavirus pandemic remains uncertain, we find ourselves in uncharted territory. It is crucial that we remain committed to our customers and partners, providing support to vulnerable businesses now more than ever.

This week, as the country began to adjust to what our reality will look like for the next 21 days and beyond, I faced my most challenging day since founding Merchant Capital. While my partners and I considered the implications of the lockdown for our business, our staff, our clients, and the country as a whole, we realized the importance of falling back on our founding principles and core values during tough times.

We will support small businesses in good times and bad.

We will uphold our core values of being considerate and promoting win-win situations.

As a result, we have decided to implement a 21-day payment holiday for the majority of our client base, which includes thousands of small businesses. During the lockdown, we will not process repayments for these clients.

This decision has significant implications for our business, but we are confident it is the right choice—for our clients, for our business, and for the entire country.

I pose a question to you today, whether as an individual or a business owner: what lies at the core of your decision-making? How are you using those values to guide you during these unprecedented times?

Stay safe and healthy.

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