ProfitShare Partners Calls For New SME Funding Model To Close Execution Gap And Boost Job Creation
Written by: Profit Share Partners Save to Instapaper
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
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