Equipment finance in South Africa: How lenders can tap into this growing market

Executive summary

South Africa’s equipment finance market is in the midst of a significant shift, driven by structural changes in business lending, increased demand for capital assets, and the gradual emergence of more flexible credit providers. Over the past six years, the gap between what businesses need to grow and what traditional financial institutions are willing to fund has widened. While large commercial banks remain the dominant players in corporate financing, they have continued to pull back from higher-risk, lower-ticket lending especially among SMEs, startups, and informal businesses. This has created a financing vacuum, particularly in the area of equipment acquisition, where the upfront costs are often too high for small businesses to self-fund, yet the assets are essential to their operations and growth.

According to International Monetary Fund data, nominal capital formation in machinery, equipment, and weapon systems climbed to approximately ZAR 149 billion in the third quarter of 2023 alone, a level that repeated in earlier quarters, signaling an annual total likely exceeding ZAR 560 billion, Trade data confirms this scale of investment: machinery and equipment imports reached R465 billion in 2023, representing nearly 25% of South Africa’s total imports. Its highest share since 2016

Within this investment surge, equipment-related financing has become a priority for many businesses, especially SMEs. Equipment purchases consistently account for over 20% of SME credit applications, making asset finance among the most requested forms of borrowing. This volume of demand comes at a time when many smaller enterprises struggle to meet traditional bank underwriting requirements, due to limited credit history or inadequate collateral.

This gap has created room for a new generation of lenders to step in. Fintechs, asset-based lenders, and leasing companies are starting to make real progress by offering more flexible terms, faster approval processes, and partnerships with equipment vendors. These lenders are not just handing out credit, they’re providing tools and services that help businesses track and manage the assets they acquire.

The momentum around equipment finance is building. SME loan applications show that equipment-related borrowing is one of the most common requests, and the need is only expected to grow. For lenders, this is a chance to build sustainable loan portfolios in a sector that’s essential to the economy. The businesses are ready. The demand is clear. What remains is for lenders to respond with products and processes that actually meet the needs of the market.

Also read: Embed BNPL into your platform without becoming a lender

What is equipment finance, and why now?

Equipment finance refers to the various lending arrangements that allow businesses to acquire the tools they need such as machinery, vehicles, generators, IT hardware, or medical devices without having to make large upfront payments. Instead of purchasing the equipment outright, businesses can spread the cost over time, which helps preserve cash flow while still enabling operations to grow or remain competitive. In South Africa, the most commonly used equipment finance structures include hire purchase agreements, finance leases, operating leases, and loans secured against the value of the asset itself. These models offer businesses a way to access high-cost tools with manageable monthly payments, and sometimes even offer tax benefits or built-in maintenance support, depending on the structure.

This kind of financing plays a particularly vital role in sectors where access to capital equipment directly impacts productivity and output. Construction companies rely heavily on earthmoving machinery. Farms need tractors, irrigation systems, and transport trucks to keep supply chains running. Manufacturers invest in production lines and processing equipment, while hospitals and clinics often need diagnostic tools and ambulances. Logistics companies, which form the pillar of the country’s supply and delivery ecosystem, depend on fleets of trucks, bikes, cars and warehousing tools to operate efficiently. In all these cases, equipment finance becomes a practical enabler of growth particularly when working capital is tight.

The demand for these services has only intensified as South Africa’s business environment continues to shift. Startups, township-based enterprises, and small and medium-sized businesses now account for a significant portion of both formal and informal economic activity. Yet despite their central role, many of these businesses struggle to access traditional financing. Commercial banks tend to set conservative credit criteria, often requiring detailed financial records, long operational history, or significant collateral, all of which are difficult for younger or less formal enterprises to produce. As a result, many otherwise viable businesses are locked out of the equipment finance they need to operate or scale.

This is where alternative lenders are finding room to grow. By using digital tools for credit scoring, partnering with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and offering flexible repayment structures, non-bank lenders are stepping in to serve borrowers who would otherwise be excluded. These lenders are not only filling a gap in the credit market; they are also helping fuel economic productivity at the grassroots level. And with South Africa’s economy facing ongoing challenges like unemployment, load shedding, and infrastructure constraints, the ability of businesses to access affordable equipment has never been more important.

Also read: The rise of retail finance in South Africa and what it means for modern lenders

Challenges to navigate

While equipment finance presents a significant growth opportunity for lenders in South Africa, the market is not without its complications. Serving this sector, particularly among SMEs and informal businesses, comes with a peculiar set of risks and operational difficulties that lenders must carefully manage.

High upfront equipment costs can strain SMEs

The cost of industrial equipment, commercial vehicles, medical machinery, and other capital tools can be substantial, often reaching hundreds of thousands or even millions of rand per unit. For SMEs with tight margins or inconsistent cash flow, even structured monthly repayments can be burdensome, especially during off-peak seasons or economic downturns. Lenders must structure financing in a way that allows for flexibility, while also managing their own risk exposure. Balloon payments, deferred payment starts, or seasonal repayment schedules may be necessary, but they add complexity to loan structuring and portfolio management.

Rapid asset depreciation complicates loan terms

Many types of equipment, especially those in construction, logistics, or technology, lose value quickly due to wear and tear, heavy usage, or obsolescence. This rapid depreciation affects the resale value of repossessed assets and also makes it difficult to structure long-term loans that are adequately secured. Lenders must strike a balance between offering terms that borrowers can afford and ensuring the residual value of the asset remains high enough to cover potential defaults.

Repossessing and reselling equipment is often legally complex and slow

Recovering equipment from a borrower in default involves navigating legal procedures that can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. In many cases, assets are located in rural or informal settings where physical access is a challenge. Even after repossession, reselling used equipment especially specialised machinery can take months, and resale values can fall far short of the outstanding loan balance. Lenders often need to build in-house logistics and legal capacity or partner with repossession agencies and auction houses to manage this process efficiently.

Many borrowers have thin or non-existent credit files

Small and informal businesses often lack a formal credit history, audited financials, or even consistent banking records. This makes traditional underwriting models unreliable. While some lenders have adopted alternative data sources such as mobile money transactions, POS usage, or utility payment patterns. This approach is still evolving and requires significant investment in data analytics and machine learning capabilities. Without robust credit profiling, lenders may find themselves exposed to higher default risk, particularly in unsecured or partially secured lending arrangements.

National Credit Act regulations limit interest rates and impose strict compliance standards

The National Credit Act (NCA) in South Africa sets clear guidelines around how lenders can operate, including caps on interest rates, requirements for affordability assessments, and detailed disclosure obligations. These rules are designed to protect consumers, but they also limit the flexibility lenders may have in pricing risk or fast-tracking credit approvals. Non-compliance can result in stiff penalties, reputational damage, or loss of operating licenses. As such, lenders entering the equipment finance space must build strong legal and compliance frameworks, even if they primarily target business borrowers.

These challenges highlight the need for a more sophisticated approach to lending in the equipment finance space. Success will depend on lenders’ ability to blend sound risk management with flexible, tech-enabled credit models that reflect the realities of South Africa’s small business scene.

Where the opportunities lie

The demand for equipment finance in South Africa is growing, but success in this space will not come from applying conventional lending models. Lenders who want to gain a meaningful edge must rethink how they structure, distribute, and underwrite credit, especially for the underserved small business market. Several high-potential strategies are already emerging:

Targeting underserved sectors like township manufacturers, solar installers, and mobile healthcare providers

Many small enterprises operating in high-demand but low-visibility sectors struggle to access credit from traditional banks. Township-based manufacturers, for instance, often operate informally but play a crucial role in local supply chains. Solar installation businesses are expanding rapidly in response to load shedding and rising energy costs, yet they face difficulty accessing the equipment needed to scale. Similarly, mobile healthcare providers and clinics require specialized medical equipment that is costly to procure. Lenders who are able to design sector-specific financing products with repayment models that align with cash flow realities stand to gain strong footholds in these markets.

Partnering with equipment dealers and OEMs to offer point-of-sale financing

By embedding finance at the point of sale, lenders can capture demand at the exact moment businesses are looking to acquire tools and machinery. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), distributors, and second-hand equipment dealers all serve as natural touchpoints for financing conversations. These partnerships allow lenders to underwrite loans based on real-time purchase data, while also giving borrowers a one-stop experience. When structured properly, this approach also helps ensure that the equipment is legitimate and fairly valued, reducing the risks of fraud or asset overvaluation.

Using GPS and IoT tech to track and monitor financed assets

One of the biggest concerns in equipment lending is the security and recoverability of the asset. By embedding GPS tracking or Internet of Things (IoT) sensors into vehicles, machinery, or devices, lenders can monitor usage patterns, receive alerts for misuse, and recover equipment more easily in cases of default. These technologies also enable usage-based financing models, where repayment terms are aligned with how much or how often the asset is used. This is particularly relevant in sectors like logistics, construction, and agriculture where asset downtime directly impacts revenue.

Embedding loans into B2B platforms and offering tailored, flexible repayment structures

Business-to-business (B2B) marketplaces, procurement platforms, and inventory management tools are increasingly becoming digital ecosystems where transactions take place. Lenders can embed financing directly into these platforms, enabling businesses to access credit with ease at the point of procurement or supplier engagement. Offering dynamic repayment plans such as revenue-linked instalments or grace periods during seasonal slowdowns, which can make these products more attractive to small businesses with uneven income flows. This level of integration allows lenders to access real-time transaction data and reduces the friction associated with traditional loan applications.

Utilizing alternative data to underwrite thin-file borrowers

A significant portion of South Africa’s small businesses have little to no formal credit history. However, many of them generate a steady volume of digital transactions through card readers, mobile payments, and e-commerce platforms. By integrating data from POS systems, bank feeds, mobile wallets, and even utility payments, lenders can build more nuanced credit profiles and assess repayment capacity with greater confidence. This approach allows them to reach a much broader market and price credit based on actual business performance rather than outdated credit scoring models.

Also read: All you need to know about alternative credit scoring

Some fintech lenders are already demonstrating what this future could look like. Lula offers up to R5 million in unsecured funding for SMEs, often disbursed within 24 hours, helping businesses take advantage of time-sensitive opportunities. Retail Capital, which has since been acquired by Tyme Bank, has developed a revenue-based lending model that uses card transaction data to assess creditworthiness and structure repayments based on the borrower’s daily income flows. These examples show that with the right data, partnerships, and technology, lenders can build profitable equipment finance portfolios that also contribute meaningfully to economic development.

The role of technology and software

Technology has become central to how modern lenders deliver and manage equipment finance at scale. Digital loan management systems now make it possible to handle the full credit lifecycle, from onboarding and KYC to disbursement, repayment tracking, and collections, within a single, automated workflow. These platforms eliminate many of the manual processes that previously slowed down approvals, enabling faster decision-making and more responsive customer service. By integrating with APIs from third-party services, lenders can run identity checks, verify business ownership, pull bank statement data, and score borrowers using alternative credit models all in real time.

Asset-heavy lending also benefits from tools that enable real-time tracking and monitoring. Technologies like GPS telemetry and IoT sensors give lenders visibility into how and where financed assets are being used. This data not only reduces the risk of asset misuse or disappearance, but also allows for smarter credit servicing. For instance, if a machine is idle for long periods or used outside of approved zones, this may serve as an early warning sign of financial distress or operational trouble. When paired with predictive analytics, these signals can inform proactive engagement strategies before a loan starts to turn sour.

The growth of embedded finance is another major shift that lenders cannot afford to ignore. Increasingly, business owners are accessing financing options from within the platforms they already use to run their operations even if that’s a procurement portal, an inventory management tool, or an accounting app. Loan management software that supports embedded credit can help lenders meet customers where they are, without forcing them to leave their workflow. Lendsqr, for example, provides APIs and white-label solutions that make it easy for lenders to integrate loan offerings into these digital touchpoints, whether through mobile apps, web platforms, or third-party ecosystems.

What sets platforms like Lendsqr apart is the focus on operational ease and speed to market. For lenders entering the equipment finance space, having a system that handles disbursements, collections, customer communications, and compliance monitoring out of the box is invaluable. With tools for onboarding, credit scoring, and even BVN or bank data checks built in, lenders can scale efficiently while maintaining control over risk and regulatory requirements. As competition in the equipment finance space intensifies, these technological capabilities will not just be enablers, they will be core differentiators.

Navigating market regulations

Lenders operating in the equipment finance space must comply with the National Credit Act (NCA), which sets strict standards on interest rates, affordability checks, disclosure, and loan structuring. Equipment loans often fall within the NCA’s definition of credit agreements, meaning lenders are obligated to perform thorough affordability assessments and adhere to capped interest rates based on loan size and category.

Despite the strict compliance environment, there are incentives and support systems available to lenders and borrowers. For instance, Section 12C and Section 11(e) of the Income Tax Act allow businesses to accelerate depreciation on qualifying equipment purchases. This means borrowers can write off equipment costs more quickly, improving their tax positions and creating room for reinvestment.

Development finance institutions such as the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA) and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) also run funding and guarantee schemes that reduce risk for lenders offering asset finance to SMEs. These programs can either offer direct co-funding for asset purchases or provide first-loss guarantees that cushion lenders in the event of defaults.

Keeping track of ongoing regulatory updates, including those related to fintech licensing, data privacy, and open banking, will also be a requisite. Lenders capitalizing on platforms like Lendsqr benefit from built-in compliance support, ensuring their loan operations are aligned with local regulations and best practices.

Strategic advice for new entrants

Lenders looking to establish themselves in South Africa’s equipment finance space will need more than just access to capital. They must bring a clear strategy for product design, customer engagement, and risk management specifically when serving SMEs and informal businesses that have historically been overlooked by banks.

A good place to start is by investing in or adopting a full-suite loan management platform that can automate core processes such as loan origination, credit scoring, disbursement, and collections. This not only helps scale operations efficiently but also reduces administrative overhead and room for error.

The structure of the loan product itself should reflect the nature of the equipment being financed. For example, repayment periods should take into account the expected lifespan and depreciation rate of the asset. A financing model that works for heavy-duty construction vehicles may not be ideal for mobile medical kits or cold-chain storage units.

Lenders can also distinguish themselves by offering bundled services. Including insurance, maintenance, or servicing within the loan agreement adds practical value for the borrower while protecting the lender’s interest in the asset. It can also strengthen long-term borrower relationships and reduce the chance of asset neglect or loss.

Another route to long-term success is forging partnerships across the equipment supply chain. This includes working with local distributors, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), and development finance institutions that can provide technical assistance, referrals, or co-financing opportunities. These partnerships not only improve borrower access but also help lenders validate transactions more quickly and securely.

Clarity and education are also fundamental. Transparent loan terms, fair pricing, and basic financial literacy resources make it easier for borrowers to understand their obligations and reduce friction during repayment. Many small businesses may be accessing formal credit for the first time, and poor communication early on can erode trust before relationships are even established.

Finally, new entrants should explore ways to better assess and manage credit risk. This could mean using non-traditional data such as mobile money usage, e-commerce performance, or seasonal sales records. Combined with tools like GPS tracking or usage sensors, these data points can enable proactive collections and help lenders intervene early if borrowers begin to fall behind.

A growing opportunity worth getting right

Equipment finance in South Africa holds real potential for lenders who are willing to invest in the right tools, partnerships, and understanding of local business needs. With thoughtful execution, it can become a meaningful and sustainable lending opportunity supporting economic growth while opening new revenue streams for those ready to step in. Explore how platforms like Lendsqr can help you launch or scale your equipment finance operations in South Africa. Book a demo now.