A third of SMEs will need $45k extra financing

According to research conducted over October 2021 by RFi Group and Prospa, SMEs will need to access tens of thousands of dollars in funding to re-establish their operations to pre-COVID levels.

For businesses that had been trading between two to five years, the percentage requiring extra financial support jumped to 57 per cent with the average funding cost likely to be around $58,000.

For the majority of businesses, extra funds were needed for purchasing tools, equipment, or machinery, restock on inventory, or investing in digital software and nearly 90 per cent of the businesses surveyed said without access to extra funds, they would miss out on opportunities to recover and grow.

“Cities are bustling as restrictions relax and small businesses want to seize the opportunity of economic uplift and end of year trade. However, the journey to recovery for small businesses comes with the need for credit to restock and retool,” Roberto Sanz, national sales manager at Prospa, said.

“Access to funds should be fast, and not met by delays, to keep your business moving.”