SME Podcast

Following his presentation at the 2026 SME Funding Summit, Don Mashele is on the SME South Africa podcast to provide even greater insights. He provides an overview of how Sedfa works, practical examples and outlines exactly what the agency is looking for from potential SME partners.

About our Guest

Don Mashele is the Head of Strategic Partnerships at Sedfa and is responsible for onboarding and managing SEDFA’s strategic partnerships as well as providing customer support to potential and existing SEDFA clients. 

His career in finance, specialising in MSME lending, started way back in 1993, and he has accumulated over 30 years of experience supporting SMEs in the various roles he has held.

Connect with Don Mashele on LinkedIn.

Sedfa Social Media Pages

Facebook: Small Enterprise Development & Finance Agency - Sedfa | Pretoria

LinkedIn: Small Enterprise Development & Finance Agency | LinkedIn

X (Twitter): https://x.com/sedfa_dsbd

Instagram: Sedfa (@sedfa_dsbd) • Instagram photos and videos

Tiktok: Sedfa_dsbd

Podcast Disclaimer

The SME South Africa Podcast shares entrepreneurial insights, business strategies, and industry experiences for educational and informational purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by our guests are strictly their own and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of SME South Africa.

It's not just about access to funding; it's about being fundable. You can apply for funding on smesouthafrica.co.za.

South African SMEs have one common concern: attracting funding. Yet, the biggest problem they face isn’t that capital isn’t available; it’s being a business that funders want to fund. What businesses need is to be visible.

This episode looks at what it means when an SME is visible and why this matters to funders.

About our Guest

With over 15 years of experience in the South African banking industry, Gcabashe’s expertise spans product management, sales strategy, operations, and process innovation. She has facilitated masterclasses at industry summits, delivered over 150 hours of coaching to business owners and leaders, and received multiple FNB innovation awards. Gcabashe holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and Business Management from UNISA and a SAFe 6 Product Owner/Product Manager Certification. She also serves as treasurer for two non-profit organisations, a role she has held for five years.

Connect with Prudence Gcabashe on LinkedIn.

What's one lesson from this episode you'll apply to make your business more funding-ready?

Let us know in the comments. Don't forget to follow or subscribe to the SME South Africa Podcast for more expert insights.

This episode focuses on the critical shift South African SMEs must make to attract investment, moving from the misconception that capital is scarce to understanding that the real challenge is becoming "investment-ready." To bridge this gap, entrepreneurs are encouraged to strengthen four core pillars—financial record health, business scalability, governance and compliance, and the management team—while adopting a culture of operational discipline, transparency, and accountability to align with funder expectations.

About our Guest Josie is a Chartered Accountant and Operations Executive who embeds operational discipline, good governance, and results-driven performance in organisations. As an APC Mentor, he is committed to nurturing future finance professionals and advocates for transparency, accountability, and measurable impact, particularly within ESD programmes. He also brings strategic insights and real-world lessons to the discussion around integrity in ESD governance.

Connect with Rinaldo Josie on ⁠LinkedIn

Podcast Disclaimer

The SME South Africa Podcast shares entrepreneurial insights, business strategies, and industry experiences for educational and informational purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by our guests are strictly their own and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of SME South Africa

Share your journey: What steps is your SME taking to build a business that investors can believe in? Remember to follow or subscribe to this podcast and click the notification bell to stay updated on new episodes.

Funding is not the hardest part of running a business.

Controversial, yes. But Thabang Hleza makes a great point. Where businesses get stuck with access to funding, it’s because of the multitude of other business issues they haven’t figured out yet, like compliance. 

This is where capacity building comes in. 

This episode explores how capacity building ensures you have all the necessities in place to make your business a functioning, fundable business that any investor would love to back. 

About our Guest

Hleza is an experienced Investment professional, passionate about SME development and value creation. He held various roles in development finance and private equity, where he was responsible for the strategic, operational, and financial performance of several portfolios. He also boasts experience in post-investment due diligence, deal structuring, and implementing value-creation opportunities within portfolio companies. With his passion and extensive experience working with SMEs, Hleza is committed to creating a greater impact and sustainable development of SMEs.

Connect with Thabang Hleza on LinkedIn

Let us know in the comments what kind of business support your business needs beyond funding. Remember to follow or subscribe to this podcast, depending on where you listen to us and click the notification bell to be notified of new episodes.

This week’s episode featured Zibusiso Mkhwanazi, Founder of Avatar Agency group. During the podcast we took a deep dive into his compelling origin story. What makes Zibusiso’s story so compelling is not just that he started Africa’s biggest black-owned agency, but also how much of a social entrepreneur he is. 

Through his foundation - The Mkhwanazi Foundation - Zibusiso continues to give back through mentorship. This episode is for the founder who is three years in and exhausted. For the young person from a township who does not yet believe their postcode is an asset, not a liability. And for anyone who has ever been told that the advertising industry — or any industry — was not built for them. 

About our Guest

Zibusiso Mkhwanazi is an award-winning entrepreneur, author, and Executive Chairman of M+N, CEO and Founder of Avatar Agency Group, one of Africa’s leading black-owned integrated marketing and advertising agencies. His journey from humble beginnings to industry trailblazer is a testament to vision, discipline, faith, and a deep commitment to unlocking African creativity for the world.

Connect with Zibusiso Mkhwanazi on LinkedIn and InstagramLinks to ResourcesAvatar Agency Group: https://avataragency.co.za/

The Mkwanazi Foundation: https://mkhwanazi.co.za/

Business by Grace (book): https://mkhwanazi.co.za/product/business-by-grace/

Podcast Disclaimer

The SME South Africa Podcast shares entrepreneurial insights, business strategies, and industry experiences for educational and informational purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by our guests are strictly their own and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of SME South Africa.

If you liked this episode, please remember to like, follow, and subscribe. We are available on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts, so you can join us wherever you listen to podcasts.

This episode dives into growth readiness and accessing funding. We take a closer look at the vital role that funding intermediaries play in closing the funding gap, as they help businesses become funding-ready and improve their chances for approval. Furthermore, Sprenger unpacks common challenges such as cash flow that she has noted cause entrepreneurs to turn to debt, but what can also help them manage these better. 

About our Guest

Sprenger is a Chartered Accountant and founder of Kayzi Growth Readiness, a South African platform that prepares SMEs for funding before they apply. Previously, she spent 12 years in the corporate world as a Group CFO at a JSE-listed group, raising debt from every major South African bank. Today, Sprenger also runs a masterclass programme on the true cost of capital and writes the weekly newsletter Eish, Am I Ready?

Connect with Jenna Sprenger on LinkedIn

Links to Resources: Eish, am I ready? Newsletter signup

If you liked this episode, please remember to like, follow, and subscribe. We are available on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts, so you can join us wherever you listen to podcasts.

In this episode, we will talk to Mapule Pathela about why being a high-growth business is no longer optional but a survival strategy. She unpacks what entrepreneurs miss when they fail to see that growth-mindedness leads to long-term survival and resilience, as well as the importance of post-investment support.

About our Guest

Heading the post-investment function at IDF Capital, Phathela has an MBA from Milpark Business School and ESG strategy training from Oxford. She oversees a portfolio of over 50 transactions across 8 funds, with an active book of over R130 million, driving financial performance, operational optimisation, and strategic divestments. Phathela is also a board observer and member of subcommittees such as Audit & Risk, which enhances governance in portfolio companies. Her current role sees her support SME growth, funding solutions, and sustainable value creation.

Connect with Mapule on LinkedIn.

👉 Share this episode with business owners who need to become growth-focused.

In this episode of the SME South Africa Podcast, Omega speaks to Ruan Fourie, CEO of AAA Consortium, about purchase order funding and what makes an SME fundable after winning a tender. Ruan unpacks why winning a purchase order is only the beginning, how funders assess whether an order is real and deliverable, and why supplier readiness, tax compliance, margins and delivery timelines matter. The conversation also explores how funding can be configured around contracts with multiple moving parts, why growth can become risky when SMEs are not operationally ready, and what founders should fix before applying for purchase order funding.

About our Guest

Ruan Fourie is the CEO of AAA Consortium, a South African purchase order funding company that supports SMEs with confirmed orders and procurement opportunities. AAA Consortium helps businesses access funding to deliver on awarded contracts, especially in the government procurement space.

Connect with Ruan and AAA Consortium

Ruan's LinkedIn

AAA Consortium's LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

👉Follow SME South Africa for more practical funding conversations.

This episode of the SME South Africa Podcast dives into mezzanine debt, flexible finance, and what makes established growth-stage businesses fundable. The conversation unpacks why many medium-sized businesses fall into the missing middle: too mature for early-stage funding but not always aligned to traditional bank lending. Mokgome explains how Kholo Capital supports businesses with growth and acquisition capital, how funders assess risk, and why responsible capital matters in a country facing over-indebtedness and uneven access to finance.

About the Guest

Mokgome Mogoba CA(SA) is the Founder and Managing Partner of Kholo Capital, a R1.4 billion mezzanine debt fund. He has more than 24 years of experience in investment banking, private credit, fund management, and deal-making across South Africa and the broader region.

Guest Socials
Connect with Mokgome Mogoba on LinkedIn.

Link to resources

◾Kholo Capital website: https://kholocapital.co.za/

◾ African Business article: https://african.business/2026/04/african-banker/kholo-capital-bets-on-growth-with-flexible-finance

◾ Startup Africa Bayport SA article: https://www.startup.africa/kholo-capital-invests-r200-million-in-bayport-sa-to-tackle-employee-debt-and-boost-financial-wellness/

👉Join us at the SME Funding Summit. Grab your ticket before they run out!

⁠⁠https://events.smesouthafrica.co.za/funding-summit-2026

This episode is built around one big idea: that the way South Africa funds its SMEs is broken — and fixable. We want our audience to walk away understanding what that fix looks like, why it has taken this long, and what Sourcefin has built to close the gap.

About the Guest

Jedd Harris is the Chief Strategy Officer for Sourcefin. With Sourcefin having deployed close to R2 billion in funding, Jedd helps shape Sourcefin’s approach to enabling the "forgotten SMME" – small businesses often excluded from traditional lending due to limited and/or poor financial history – and facilitating shared growth. Harris' strategic leadership is shaped by his prior experience at Investec and Kearney, where he honed his expertise in finance and management consulting. He holds cum laude degrees in Economics and Finance from the University of the Witwatersrand.

Guest Socials

Connect with Jedd Harris on LinkedIn.

Link to resources:

Capital deployment by Sourcefin (R2 billion in a single financial year): Sourcefin Futuregrowth investment deal

👉Join us at the SME Funding Summit. Grab your ticket before they run out!

⁠https://events.smesouthafrica.co.za/funding-summit-2026