How to improve your chances of qualifying for a loan

There are not many things that feel as bad as continuously trying to do something, but falling short each time.

"You don't qualify," "You don't meet the minimum requirements," or some variation of these messages.

The only problem is that we're often not told what we should do to increase our chances of qualifying. My goal with writing this article is to share with you what we've been able to learn about our lenders in the last few months.

How this article will be structured

• How the application process works on Insyts.ai?
• What have we learnt from the lenders?
• Which lenders can you access funding from?
• What are the lenders requirements, and how much interest do they charge?
• How to apply for a loan?

How the application process works on Insyts.ai

Whenever you click "Apply" on your Insyts.ai dashboard, the information you've provided us (e.g CIPC details, monthly revenue, and uploaded documents) are used to determine which lenders you're most likely to qualify for.

After you complete the 3 steps (1. Finance Calculator, 2. Select your lenders, 3. Upload documents) your application form is forwarded to each of the lenders.

A question that some of you have asked is: "why didn't Insyts.ai accept my application for funding?" At the moment, we don't provide funding to SMEs. We connect you (the business owner) to a large pool of lenders. If you're not able to qualify for funding from the lenders yet, we provide resources to help your business prepare for financing. Currently those resources are articles (such as the one you're currently ready), but you'll soon be able to use a new feature that will allow you to see an overview of your business financial health, as well as how you can improve it.

But, what happens after you've been accepted for funding? After you've made the loan application, the lender reaches out to you directly to request any information that may be needed for additional screening. So, if you didn't include all the bank statements that were requested, for example, the lender will request these again to give you the best chance of accessing funding.

You'll then sign the agreement with the lender, and the lender will pay the agreed sum into your business bank account. One your repayment term begins, you'll then be required to pay the agreed amount into the lenders bank account.

What have we learnt from the lenders?

You have a fair chance of qualifying for funding from any of the lenders you've applied for as each of the lenders deals with the application independently.

• We've seen instances of SMEs being accepted for funding from more than one lenders.
• But once you accept one loan, you're unlikely to access the opportunity to accept the second loan too.

Which lenders can you access funding from?

Some of the lenders that provide funding on the Insyts.ai platform are Fundrr, Business Fuel, The People's Fund, Sourcefin and Merchant Capital to name a few.

What are the lenders requirements, and how much interest do they charge?

1. 6 months Bank Statement
2. Director/Owners ID copy
3. CIPC Certificate
4. Monthly Turnover
5. The loan amount
6. How long the business has been operational

Interest rates range from 1.7%-6% monthly on outstanding balance.

How to apply for a loan?

Get started with your application by registering an account here.

Send your questions to insyts@akibadigital.com.