Working with business

From micro-enterprises to multinational corporations, we work with every type of business. Our reach stretches worldwide, with ideas to suit every scale and sector.

In the UK, our Credit Support Helpdesk helps business customers experiencing difficulty with obtaining finance. In South Africa, Absa has set up Enterprise Development Centres and established a dedicated Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) fund to offer development funding, mentorship and business support.

We actively supported UK government funding schemes, including Enterprise Finance
Guarantee (EFG), arranging almost one in four EFG loans to viable businesses that did not have enough security to access finance. We also worked to help clients recover – more than 80% of struggling businesses which undertook a turnaround programme with our Business Support Unit were returned to good health. In 2009, our ‘Let’s Talk’ programme offered face-to-face training and supported in excess of 7,000 pre-start-up and 5,500 existing small businesses.

Late payment and bad debts continue to threaten the health of many UK businesses. In 2009, CREDITFOCUS, a product aimed at businesses with a turnover of less than £1m, helped customers chase more than £25m in unpaid invoices.