At the 2025 edition of the SME Funding Summit, exhibitors and attendees had the opportunity to meet and discuss the issue of obtaining financing for businesses from different sectors and business stages. One of the sponsors and exhibitors on the day was Fund the People, and they strive to change the narrative about funding accessibility.
“Fund the People is a tendering platform,” says Praneshan Naidoo, Founder of Fund the People and Go Fund Yourself. “What we do is we take someone who doesn’t even have a company and help them get a tender. We help with full skills development by taking somebody who can, for example, manufacture a table and look at how we can help them develop that into a tender.”
Naidoo explains that Fund the People doesn’t just hand out money. “We help people with the tender process from A to Z. A lot of people have a particular skill and knowledge about how to make a product, but they don’t always know how to sell it.”
Key Takeaways from the SME Funding Summit
“The key takeaway we want for anyone who interacts with our brand, such as attendees at the SME Funding Summit, is how they can grow with us,” he shares. “Partnering with us can help show these entrepreneurs a sustainable future and how they can grow within the economy.
“When I say grow, I don’t just mean your business. Grow by hiring more people. Grow by transferring skills. Take your skills and pass them on to the next person or generation. Let the economy grow. That’s what we want, right?”
Naidoo’s passion shines through as he continues to use his prior example of a furniture maker. “We want the person who is making furniture, building tables or developing products to pass it on to the youth so that the youth can carry on with it. That is how you are going to build a South Africa, and that’s what we as Fund the People do.”
Fund the People’s Goal
Fund the People offers purchase order funding and invoice discounting. With the former, entrepreneurs can fulfil big orders and pay suppliers upfront. With the latter, business owners can unlock the cash tied up in unpaid invoices.
“Like I said,” Naidoo emphasises. “We don’t just hand out money – we execute A to Z across the board, and that’s what makes us different.”
Fund the People believes that attendees could walk away with knowledge and confidence based on the interaction they had with entrepreneurs at the SME Funding Summit.
“I am seeing hope, and I am seeing people who are grateful to see the various funders here.” Naidoo recalls attendees’ words and the value the event had for them. “It’s especially valuable for people who are saying: ‘I knew about the five major banks, I knew about loan sharks and borrowing money from family, and they are all saying no to me all the time.’ It’s this sentiment that we want to change.
“We want to have the new narrative that entrepreneurs come to us first before they go anywhere else.”
Exhibiting and Sponsoring the SME Funding Summit
As one of the Summit Bronze sponsors, Naidoo enthusiastically shared their passion for being involved in the day.
“The SME Funding Summit reminded us why these events are so vital for our economy. These events aren’t just about name tags and business cards: it’s about connecting the dots between real people and real solutions.
“I am loving what SME South Africa has done here, bringing niche funders into the market.” He highlights that in many instances, traditional funders such as banks are unable to fund businesses – a reality that many unbankable entrepreneurs can attest to.
“The platform that SME South Africa has put together here is massive,” he concludes.
