ProfitShare Partners Calls For New SME Funding Model To Close Execution Gap And Boost Job Creation

As the global business community prepares to mark World Entrepreneurs’ Day on 21 August, fintech pioneer ProfitShare Partners is calling for a fundamental shift in how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are financed—warning that traditional funding models are failing to turn business opportunities into tangible employment.

The call comes against a stark economic backdrop. Statistics South Africa’s latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (Q1 2026) revealed that the country’s official unemployment rate has climbed to 32.7%. While governments and development finance institutions routinely point to SMEs as the primary engines of job creation, ProfitShare Partners Founder and CEO, Andrew Maren, argues that a critical disconnect is stalling economic recovery.

“We often speak about SMEs as engines of employment, but jobs are not created by potential alone,” says Maren. “An SME may win a purchase order, secure a contract, or be appointed to deliver a major project. On paper, this looks like progress. Yet, between winning the work and being paid for it lies a difficult, high-risk stretch of execution that stops many entrepreneurs in their tracks.”

The Hidden Threat: The SME