From zero to a billion: Inside Phakamani Impact Capital’s decade of building South Africa’s SMMEs
At The Garden Venue in Northriding, just over a week ago, the sound of the Jeppe’s Boys marimba band floated across the cultivated lawn as entrepreneurs, mining executives, and journalists gathered for a milestone rarely seen in South Africa’s enterprise development space: the celebration of Phakamani Impact Capital’s disbursement of more than R1bn to small businesses.
Phakamani Impact Capital Group of Companies is a progressive holding company committed to revolutionising funding, training and development across industries. With a particular focus on enterprise and supplier development (ESD) and small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs), the company’s work goes beyond profit and is fundamentally driven by meaningful impact.
This event wasn’t just a party. It was part reckoning, part storytelling, and part glimpse into what’s possible when patient capital meets relentless human tenacity.
'Rise up'
“The word 'phakamani' means ‘rise up’,” said emcee Gugulethu Mhlungu, grounding the celebration in South Africa’s harsh realities. “Fifteen million people in this country don’t have enough to eat. One income now supports up to eight people. The work Phakamani Impact Capital does matters to all of us, because it multiplies impact – especially through women, who reinvest most of their income back into families and communities. One loan to an entrepreneur ripples outward, sometimes touching hundreds of lives.”
Founder’s moving train
For CEO Nick van Rensburg, the milestone doubled as a moment of reflection. He recounted Phakamani Impact Capital’s beginnings with humour and candour: “The idea behind Phakamani Impact Capital was born out of the good work done at Anglo Zimele. When I left Anglo, it was devastating. I wanted to continue doing this work, work I truly love.
“But I started with zero money, zero staff. I thought starting this was going to be relatively easy. I thought, ‘I’m Nick, people know me – of course the clients will come.’ They didn’t. I sat in an empty office and wondered what I’d done. But I didn’t give up, and slowly, one contract, one deal at a time, the train started moving.
Ten years later, that train has carried 1,423 SMMEs, sustaining 24,000 jobs and achieving a loan recovery rate of 93%. “Every loan is more than capital – we have helped build countless thriving businesses, confident business people, and created several millionaires along the way,” Van Rensburg told the audience. “I want to thank everyone who has contributed to what Phakamani Impact Capital is today and for what has been a very successful journey.”
The chairman’s charge
Phakamani Impact Capital chairman Butana Khoza placed the R1bn milestone in a wider frame. “Financial access is one of South Africa’s greatest challenges. Traditional banks are often out of reach for small vendors and start-ups. What Phakamani Impact Capital has built is unique.
“But we are not investors, we are not driving debt, we are not another microlender contributing to social ills. We give these small businesses access to capital they would not have had elsewhere, as they repay the loan and their profile improves, they are able to access more funding. Our goal is for SMMEs to thrive and actually outgrow our fund. To grow to a point that they become players in the traditional system,” he said.
“One of our standout features is the Phakamani Learning Academy. We found a way to move beyond disbursing cash and to further empower individuals with the financial literacy and other business skills needed to succeed as entrepreneurs. It is not just a financing mechanism, but a community-based model where training, mentoring, and capital work together,” he said. “That’s why today is about more than numbers, it’s about impact.”
Stories behind the statistics
Impact was on full display as SMMEs set up booths, showcasing everything from mining services to transport and logistics. Guests moved from table to table, hearing firsthand how access to finance and training had changed businesses, and lives.
For Annah Manugu, founder of Mamoja Trading & Projects, the journey has been one of hard lessons and resilience. “People think transport is just about trucks and drivers. But in mining, it’s directly tied to production plans. One delay, and you’re costing millions. That means compliance, safety, and strategy are non-negotiable. Phakamani Impact Capital pushed me to tighten my systems, get ISO certified, and build resilience beyond mining. That support has been transformational.”
Mining engineer turned entrepreneur Refilwe Mamogale, founder of TsogoMath, spoke with raw honesty about the thin line between failure and success. “In 2022, I quit a corporate job to pursue my business. Within months, a truck accident wiped out my cash flow. I had two choices: give up or fight. Phakamani Impact Capital’s support and mentorship pulled me back from the edge. Today we’re developing innovative tools that make mining safer and more efficient. This isn’t just about profit, it’s about building legacies and restoring hope to people who look like me.”
Another beneficiary of Phakamani Impact Capital’s programmes, Sindi Bhembe, founder of construction company Bhembe Unlimited Group Africa, said: “Phakamani Impact Capital continues to create valuable opportunities that empower and uplift SMME businesses like mine. Their commitment to opening doors for growth and visibility is truly impactful and I am forever grateful to have worked with them.”
Another beneficiary, Free State based business owner Nomasonto Hlewayo, who runs the construction and training company AVA Group, echoed Bhembe: “Thank you Phakamani Impact Capital, for your inspiring commitment to women in the mining space. The impact you have made in my business and others who have worked with you has been vital to our success.”
The corporate partner’s perspective
Representing Sibanye-Stillwater, one of Phakamani Impact Capital’s largest partners, Kevin Stroud, manager: Strategic Procurement, stressed the importance of partnership. “We began with a small pilot in 2018. Today, Phakamani Impact Capital’s programme runs across our operations. ESD is a moving train – you can’t get on and off at will. Every year we adapt, we innovate. And at the end of the day, while corporates can provide opportunities, it’s the entrepreneurs who make the difference.”
Beyond the billion
The day closed with a three-course meal and plenty of networking, but the sense of unfinished business hung in the air. As Van Rensburg noted, the next target is R2bn, and it won’t be easy. Scaling will mean bringing in new partners and managing larger, more complex portfolios.
Still, the mood was less about fatigue than about faith. As Mhlungu reminded the room: “The seeds planted here are already multiplying. What we’ve seen today is not just growth, but possibility.”
And in a country where too often economic news is framed in terms of crisis, Friday’s event offered a rare and powerful counterpoint: a story of small businesses rising, and taking communities with them.
Reflecting on the day, another beneficiary Thabiso Mongane, founder and CEO of Thrift Online, a multiservice industrial technology company, said that Phakamani impact Capital’s achievement is far more than a financial figure.
“It represents thousands of entrepreneurs who dared to dream, countless jobs created in townships and rural communities, and a decade of building resilience in the very sectors that hold the key to South Africa’s inclusive growth. SMMEs are not just participants in the economy, they are its lifeblood. They are the corner shop that sustains a family, the manufacturing startup that employs local youth, the service provider that fuels township economies. In a country where unemployment and inequality remain stubborn challenges, supporting SMMEs in the way Phakamani Impact Capital does, is one of the most powerful levers to unlock the shared prosperity we all hope for.”