Small businesses in South Africa looking for working capital have received a boost this week with the announcement that online lending platform Lulalend has received additional investment.

The Cape Town based online lender has raised $6.5m in funding, primarily backed by IFC and Quona Capital.

South Africa has a very under-developed SME funding market with traditional funders still incredibly risk averse and decisions around loans being made relatively slowly. Lulalend has attempted to change this by developing an online application model that allows SMEs to apply online and get feedback on their loan inside of 48 hours.

Businesses can apply for loans of between R20 000 and R1m and approved loans can be disbursed inside of 24 hours from approval.

According to this most recent article from Techcrunch, the most common loan issued by Lulalend is around $10,000 (R148 000) over a 6 month term.

Below is a short testimonial video from New Earth Recycling CEO, Noel Ehrenreich who talks about his challenges in raising finance in South Africa.