As South Africa works to rebuild economic growth, micro- small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) have emerged as the country’s most important economic engines. They create jobs, enhance township economies and drive growth in sectors such as fashion, beauty, manufacturing, logistics and services.
Despite their potential, many MSMEs remain stuck in the early stages of growth, unable to scale
because they do not meet the requirements for traditional funding models. African Bank, audaciously positioned around the principle of financial inclusion, is working to close this gap. Its approach has evolved beyond funding small businesses to building systemic support around them, from concept to long-term sustainability.
This commitment forms part of the bank’s Excelerate strategy, which places SMME support, supply-chain development and township participation at the centre of its growth story.
Local Fashion Police: turning creative potential into bankable potential African Bank’s partnership with Proudly South Africa’s Local Fashion Police illustrates how financial inclusion can unlock real value within the country’s creative economy. The initiative is a flagship platform that spotlights emerging and established designers in the clothing, textile, footwear and leather sector, many of whom operate as micro-enterprises with significant talent but limited access to funding, manufacturing scale or retail distribution.
By backing the platform, African Bank is strengthening an entire value chain, enabling designers to commercialise their work, stabilise production and take local creativity to market with more confidence and structure.
The partnership also builds on one of the standout success stories of 2025: the House of Khosi Nkosi, which earlier this year stepped onto the global stage and debuted African Bank’s corporate wear collections at the Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks. A breakthrough moment, enabled by the bank’s investment in the brand’s business readiness, was proof that South Africa’s creative businesses can compete internationally when they are backed creatively as well as structurally and financially along the value chain.
Nkosi confirms the impact: “Working with African Bank has fundamentally changed the trajectory of my business. The support went far beyond funding; it gave my brand the confidence and commercial readiness to operate on a global stage. From Paris and Milan to being recognised in the Seychelles as International Designer of the Year, this journey has shown me what becomes possible when creative talent is backed by a partner that truly understands growth.”
African Bank’s work in fashion, township commerce and small-scale manufacturing signals a broader shift in South African banking from transactional lending to developmental investment. Rather than entering once a business is already established, the bank is positioning itself earlier along the value chain as an authentic growth partner.
Edna Montse, Chief Executive Sustainable and Transformation says: “South Africa’s creative sector is full of entrepreneurs with global potential, who operate in environments where access to working capital and growth finance is scarce. Our role is to close that gap by walking with these businesses from their earliest stages of viability. When designers like the House of Khosi Nkosi move from local visibility to international runways, it shows what becomes possible when talent is matched with the right financial infrastructure.”
Township Spark rewrites the township economies
African Bank is amplifying its MSME programme through Township Spark. This initiative represents a shift in how township entrepreneurs are financed. Rather than applying traditional credit scoring to businesses that operate in informal or hybrid environments, Township Spark introduces risk-sharing models, alternative credit assessment tools and revenue-based indicators that reflect the real behaviour of township businesses.
African Bank will deploy capital to qualifying youth and women-led MSMEs that have the ideas and entrepreneurial drive, but lack the financial footprint required by conventional banking. This offering recognises that township business growth is often held back by a mismatch between entrepreneurial energy and formal financial criteria fulfilment.
Zweli Manyathi, African Bank Chief Executive: Business & Commercial Banking says: “Township Spark is part of a greater shift in how we think about risk and opportunity in the township economy. Traditional scoring models were never built for these businesses. By using alternative data points and risk-sharing approaches, we’re unlocking a sector that has always been productive, just never properly recognised by the financial system. This is how we turn participation into real economic progress.”
The Local Fashion Police and Township Spark initiatives reflect the bank’s intention to close the “missing middle” in South Africa’s MSME landscape: businesses too big to remain informal, yet too small to access traditional credit, are too important to the economy to be overlooked.
“Growth will come from backing the entrepreneurs who fuel everyday South African life – the makers, designers, traders innovators who keep local economies moving.”