ABOUT US
- Who we are
- Our heritage
- Corporate centre
WHO WE ARE
We’re one of the leading business loan providers for viable small to medium businesses in the world. We provide loan finance ranging from US$100 000 to US$ 1 million to all business owners who have a viable formal business and require finance for expansion, working capital, equipment, takeovers, property, franchises or management buy-outs.
We operate from Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia.
DEVELOPMENT STATISTICS FROM INCEPTION
WHY DO WE CALL OURSELVES BUSINESS PARTNERS INTERNATIONAL?
- For the simple reason that we are invested in seeing business owners succeed. That’s why we have been the business financier of choice for many business owners for over three decades.
- Our name expresses our commitment to the relationship with the business owners we serve. Not only are we committed to providing loan finance solely for viable small to medium businesses, we also bind ourselves to support business owners with our knowledge and value-added services every step of the way.
- Because your success is our success. Isn’t that what you’d expect from a business financier?
BUSINESS OWNERS ARE OUR EXCLUSIVE FOCUS
- Our core focus is you, the business owner.
- We have spent over three decades adjusting our products and services to boost the success of the business owners we support.
- We know that by investing in you, we’re also fuelling the growth of our economy and building a better future for all.
- If you’re serious about growing your company, connect with us.
WE PROVIDE MORE THAN JUST MONEY
- Because we understand the experiences and challenges business owners face, we take more risk than most financiers.
- While we’ve provided business loans worth over US$ 123 million to date, we understand that success sometimes requires more than money alone.
- Beyond financial support, we offer a range of solutions catering to all your business needs. Providing everything from technical assistance and mentorship to property finance and business premises to lease.
Click here to learn about our Technical Assistance Programme
BUSINESS OWNERS ARE OUR EXCLUSIVE FOCUS
- Our core focus is you, the business owner.
- We have spent over three decades adjusting our products and services to boost the success of the business owners we support.
- We know that by investing in you, we’re also fuelling the growth of our economy and building a better future for all.
- If you’re serious about growing your company, connect with us.
WE PROVIDE MORE THAN JUST MONEY
- Because we understand the experiences and challenges business owners face, we take more risk than most financiers.
- While we’ve provided business loans worth over R20 billion to date, we understand that success sometimes requires more than money alone.
- Beyond financial support, we offer a range of solutions catering to all your business needs. Providing everything from technical assistance and mentorship to property finance and business premises to lease.
Click here to learn about our Technical Assistance Programme
OUR MISSION, VISION,
GOAL, AND PURPOSE
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to invest capital, skill and knowledge into viable entrepreneurial enterprises in South Africa, and markets in Africa where we have a presence.
OUR VISION
Our vision is to be the premier business partner for SMEs, supporting growth and development, facilitating entrepreneurial wealth formation and stimulating job creation.
OUR GOAL
Our goal is to be an internationally respected, successful and profitable business partner for SMEs.
OUR PURPOSE
To foster a culture of entrepreneurship in South Africa, Africa and all markets where we have a presence.
OUR VALUES
ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT
Our people are both entrepreneurial and passionate about entrepreneurs. We invest where we see an opportunity, driven by the conviction that SMEs are generators of wealth and economic growth. We believe that viable and successful SMEs create sustainable jobs that provide dignity and contribute towards alleviating the scourges of poverty and inequality which afflict much of the developing world. Our entrepreneurial approach and passion for doing business enables us to partner with our clients in the success of their businesses.
ECONOMIC MERIT
Economic merit underpins all our finance and investment decisions, ensuring that access to business finance and added-value services for entrepreneurs is consistent, sustainable, and inclusive — so that we may serve all communities and groups of entrepreneurs. It is also the foundation of all our operational decisions, ensuring long-term sustainability and the ability to deliver optimum value for clients and shareholders alike.
INTEGRITY
Both our business and personal conduct are imbued with honesty, respect for human dignity and the highest levels of ethical business practices.
SERVICE EXCELLENCE
We exist for our clients. We enjoy serving them. We continuously strive to exceed their expectations with our products, innovative solutions and the quality of our service.
OUR HERITAGE -
40 YEARS OF FINANCING ENTREPRENEURS
OUR STORY
Africa and the world, needs more business owners – especially those who start-up, establish and grow SMEs. Research has proven that entrepreneurial SMEs are very effective at stimulating economic growth, generating wealth and creating jobs – all of which are required for us to successfully combat unemployment and poverty which afflicts much of the world.
To encourage more people to pursue entrepreneurship as a noble career, we must honour and celebrate entrepreneurs as role models – the true heroes of economic society who, often against all odds, generate wealth for themselves and their families and create jobs for many – and we must champion their cause. This is what we strive to do at BUSINESS/PARTNERS in South Africa and other selected African countries where we operate, namely Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia.
OUR HISTORY
Our story started in 1979 at a business conference in downtown Johannesburg. The late Dr Anton Rupert – egged on by his son, Johann – proposed the idea for a joint venture between the public and private sectors to finance and support SMEs.
In 1981 the Small Business Development Corporation Ltd (SBDC) was established, with both the public and private sectors having equal shareholding. The main role of the SBDC was to provide investment capital and business support to small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs). These beneficiary businesses could be a start-up, in the process of expansion, or one without access to capital markets. In short, the SBDC backed potential.
Read MoreThe SBDC quickly gained a reputation for being first-class in its field, and by 1994, was referred to by The World Bank as “unmatched by any other financial institution in South Africa”. The dawn of South Africa’s democracy marked the commencement of a restructuring process for the SBDC. Extensive negotiations between its public and private sector shareholders resulted in the company narrowing its focus and market segment to SMEs only. The SBDC affirmed its position as an independent profit-making company with the vision of being the best value-adding provider of capital to SMEs in South Africa.
With the conclusion of the restructuring process came the decision to reposition our brand. And so in 1998, the Small Business Development Corporation Limited became Business Partners Limited. This repositioning process cemented our move into the niche SME market. It resulted in the introduction of innovative financing and investment products for SMEs, and the restructuring of the property portfolio to ensure that business premises would be made available at market-related rentals for SMEs.
Our new name ‘BUSINESS/PARTNERS’ reflects the partnership relationship we form with each of the entrepreneurs we support. It reflects our commitment not only to invest in viable SMEs, but to also contribute the much-needed value-adding support services to SMEs. It also expresses the partnership we form with the entrepreneurs we support.
To ensure our relevance and strengthen our SME niche market position, we regularly review our business processes. We also undertake initiatives to raise awareness around our brand, increase understanding of our product and service offering and increase the number and value of investment deals per annum.
As part of this review process, in 2014 we undertook another repositioning exercise with the specific intent of reviving our brand presence and helping to foster and entrench a culture of entrepreneurship amongst all Africans. This process resulted in the improvement of our processes, refinement of our products and changes in our logo.
Our logo reflects not only the crux of who we are, but also of who we aim to serve. The entrepreneur. At first glance, one of the stylised objects is different from the rest. It stands out and is one of a kind – the square peg in the sea of round holes. This represents the rarity of people who possess the qualities necessary to be an entrepreneur. The ‘twist’ of the square peg further emphasises the distinctive, mould-breaking character of the entrepreneur. This reflects not only the entrepreneurial qualities of the target market, but of BUSINESS/PARTNERS itself.
OUR DNA
In striving to make entrepreneurship the most aspirational human endeavour of all, we have identified the Entrepreneurs Credo as being at the centre of our DNA.
Our Entrepreneurs Credo is taken from Thomas Paine’s ‘The Common Man’, written in 1776. It is an ageless piece of writing that speaks to the life choices and beliefs of an entrepreneur. This is a passage that speaks to who we are and who we aspire to be. The words articulate what runs in our blood, what inspires us to do what we do. An inspiring sentiment, we wish that every entrepreneur would read these words on a daily basis.
ENTREPRENEUR'S
CREDO
I do not choose to be a common (wo)man.
It is my right to be uncommon … if I can.
I seek opportunity … not security.
I want to take the calculated risk;
To dream and to build. To fail and to succeed.
I will never cower before any master,
Nor bend to any threat.
It is my heritage to stand Proud and unafraid;
To think and act for myself,
To enjoy the benefit of my creations
And to face the world boldly and say:
This, I have done.
I am an entrepreneur.
Thomas Paine, 1776
CORPORATE CENTRE
REGISTERED OFFICEC/O IQ/EQ Corporate Services (Mauritius) Ltd COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBERRegistration Number: 130558/C1/GBL |
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CORPORATE SERVICES37 West Street |
POSTAL ADDRESSPO Box 7780 |
OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM
Mark Paper (CEO: BPI Africa)
Matthew Cumming (Regional Investment Manager)
Michael Muthengi Makau (Country Manager: Kenya)
Vincent Kiyingi (Country Manager: Uganda)
Jean-Claude Ishimwe Mutajogire (Country Manager: Rwanda)
Gerschwyne van Wyk (Country Manager: Namibia)
Akuzike Kafwamba (Country Manager: Malawi)
Stefanie Pratten (Company Secretarial and Compliance Manager)
Kholofelo Lebogo (Finance Manager)
Our Charter is our promise to you, our client, that we will always serve you in a manner that is:
PROFESSIONAL
Our interactions with you will always be courteous, friendly and respectful. We conduct our business with integrity. We shall ensure that our people have both the general and industry-specific knowledge to understand your requirements.
CONFIDENTIAL
We value the personal and business information which you share with us. We shall guard the confidentiality and privacy of your information at all times.
RESPONSIVE
We shall promptly respond to all your requests for information and service. We undertake to provide you with an in-principle response to your application for any of our business services within seven business days. We shall regularly inform you about the status of and progress on your application.
INNOVATIVE
We shall regularly update, improve and expand our business systems and processes to ensure the continuous improvement in your service experience.
The aim of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (No. 2 of 2000) is to foster a culture of transparency and accountability in both public and private bodies, and to promote a society in which the people of South Africa have effective access to information so as to enable them to fully exercise and protect all their rights (www.services.gov.za).
Please follow the links below to access the material
- Manual of Business Partners Limited (download)
- Table of legislation (Appendix 3) (download)
Cookie Policy (download)
E-mail Disclaimer (download)
External Privacy Policy(download)
Website Privacy Policy (download)
OUR OFFICE LOCATIONS
HEAD OFFICET 011 713 6600za PHYSICAL37 West Street POSTALPO Box 7780 |
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KENYA
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MALAWI
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NAMIBIA
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RWANDA
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UGANDA
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