The Sourcefin Brief week ending 31 August 2026
Cape Town has signed 70MW of solar agreements at rates below Eskom's. Here is what funders now expect, and where the work is most likely to reach an SMME.
On this page
Cape Town signed its first solar power deals, and traditional lenders tightened what they ask for. This week’s Brief covers funding conditions, open tenders on the radar, new Knowledge Hub articles, a tip of the week and a worked example of Sourcefin funding.
This week’s theme
Cape Town signs solar deals as funders demand clear cash flow
Cape Town seals its first solar agreements
The City of Cape Town has signed its first power purchase agreements with independent solar producers, a first for any South African city. The two twenty-year agreements cover 70MW in total, made up of 30MW from JEMPEC’s plant in Atlantis and 40MW from Make A Difference LLC’s plant in Philippi. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said the agreements are an important step towards securing cheaper and more reliable electricity for residents. The city expects to procure about R8 billion worth of electricity across the two agreements over the twenty-year period, at rates below current Eskom prices. Price increases are linked to the Consumer Price Index rather than to Eskom’s future increases, and the city says it plans to buy up to 700MW from private producers over time.
Source: IOL Business Report
What growth capital asks for
Many small business owners approach funders with applications built around what they need, and are sometimes turned away without a clear explanation of why. Traditional lenders assessing growth capital work the other way round. They want clear cash flow, technology integration for automated operations, and structured financial or compliance data before they approve. Lenders and investors deploying that kind of capital look for predictable revenue, product-market fit and operational traction. Contract-backed funding works to a different test, weighing the strength of a confirmed order and the ability to deliver it rather than the trading history behind it. For an SMME holding a signed order but no long record, that distinction decides which doors are actually open.
Source: SME South Africa
Sars is fighting more disputes
Tax practitioners say the South African Revenue Service has become tougher, more sophisticated and increasingly willing to fight taxpayers all the way to court. In its last reported financial year it won the large majority of tax disputes that reached litigation. Nico Theron, founder of Unicus Tax Specialists, frames this less as a shift in the balance of power than as more effective use of powers the revenue service has always held, driven by pressure to meet collection targets. He also notes that disputes have risen in complexity. For a business, an incorrect assessment left unresolved can affect both a Tax Compliance Status and the cash flow behind it.
Source: Moneyweb
What to do next: Review your financial records so you have clear cash flow and structured data ready for lenders. Pull your Tax Compliance Status PIN on eFiling and confirm no assessments are sitting unresolved against your name. If you are disputing an assessment, treat it as a formal legal matter from the outset, because your compliance status and your cash flow both turn on the outcome.
Our FNB referral arrangement is now live
Through a referral arrangement with FNB, more businesses can access Purchase Order Financing for the confirmed work they win. FNB brings trusted banking infrastructure, and Sourcefin makes the funding decision.
Follow the link to see how the arrangement works and who it is for.
Inside the FNB referral arrangement, and what it took to get there
Sourcefin CEO Joshua Kadish joined Jedd Harris on The Great Enabler Podcast to walk through what a bank examines before it refers its own clients to an alternative funder, why a delivery record matters more than the funding itself, and how the referral route works in practice.
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Funding conditions
What the market looks like this week
Yahoo Finance · 31 Aug 2026, 19:27 CAT
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Tender radar
Open tenders relevant to your business
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Transportation and storage
Supply of Oil, Fuel, and Air Filters
City of Johannesburg - Metro Bus · Gauteng · Closes 4 September 2026
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Arts, entertainment and recreation
Supply of Goods and Cleaning Supplies for Joburg City Theatre
JOBURG THEATRE (SOC) LTD · Gauteng · Closes 4 September 2026
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Other service activities
Supply and Delivery of Filters for Service Provider
City of Johannesburg - Metro Bus · Gauteng · Closes 4 September 2026
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Supplies: Computer Equipment
Supply and Delivery of ICT Equipment for ATNS
Air Traffic and Navigation Services Company Limited · Gauteng · Closes 4 September 2026
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Supplies: General
Supply and Delivery of Building Appliances
Air Traffic and Navigation Services Company Limited · Gauteng · Closes 4 September 2026
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Other service activities
Cartridges and Toners Supply and Delivery
Limpopo - Department of Community Safety and Transport Management · Limpopo · Closes 4 September 2026
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Supplies: General
Supply of Boiler Pneumatic Cylinder Spares
ESKOM · Mpumalanga · Closes 4 September 2026
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New on Sourcefin’s Knowledge Hub
Top picks from this week’s articles
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2026-08-18 | Funding
GEP funding: how Gauteng Enterprise Propeller supports SMMEs
What Gauteng Enterprise Propeller funds, who qualifies, how to apply, and what to do when you win work but still need the capital to deliver it on time.
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2026-08-23 | Funding
Purchase order funding without a track record in SA
You won the order but the business is young and there is no collateral. The three checks a funder actually runs, and what evidence carries the decision.
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2026-08-23 | Funding
How to get business funding without a track record
No trading history and no collateral, but a real order in hand. How South African SMMEs get funded on the strength of the opportunity rather than the balance sheet.
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Tip of the week
A confirmed order from a creditworthy buyer can be funded on its own merits, without a long trading history.
Contract-backed funding is assessed on the strength of the order and your ability to deliver it, which is why a young business holding a signed purchase order is not automatically out of options.
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This week’s case
Sourcefin funding · Deal size: R1.2m
Gauteng school supplier bridges a provincial payment delay
A Johannesburg stationery supplier completed a major delivery to five public schools in Gauteng. The work was signed off, but provincial transfer delays meant payment was deferred by several weeks. By using invoice discounting, the business converted its approved invoices into working capital and paid its own staff and suppliers on time. That bridged the cash-flow gap without pausing daily trading, and without the business having to absorb the delay on its own balance sheet.
This is a fictional illustration of how Sourcefin’s products are typically used. Names and figures are not real.
Partners in execution
Sourcefin stands alongside South African businesses by funding real opportunities rather than balance sheets. A confirmed order and the ability to deliver it matter more to us than a long trading history or a perfect set of books. We work to keep your projects moving so you can deliver on what you have already won.
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Sourcefin is a South African alternative finance provider that offers purchase order funding and invoice discounting to SMMEs, enabling businesses to fulfil confirmed purchase orders or tenders and unlock cash flow without collateral. Unlike traditional lenders or banks, Sourcefin also provides end-to-end support including supplier sourcing, logistics, project management, and risk oversight.
