About Genfin

Commercially Minded

GENFIN is a proudly South African entrepreneurial business that enables, and supports, SMEs and mid-corporates with flexible business funding so they can unlock their growth for sustainable success. 

Flexible business funding and
working capital solutions

At Genfin, we understand the needs of businesses and that access to affordable finance is critical for the growth, sustainability, and operation of any business. As part of the GENFIN group, GENFIN (formerly “Business Fuel”), established in 2016, has been assisting businesses with funding for up to R3million.

We provide you with certainty in both swiftness in the response to your application and the amount of financing your business can afford. With our proprietary process, the credit decision is accelerated ensuring you’ll get an answer within 24 hours.

Our Partners

We are backed by the Genfin SA group, an investment company specializing in SME and consumer lending in South Africa. Other strategic funding partners include RMBSanlam Investments, Ashburton Investments and STANLIB.

The History of Genfin

Established date

June 2016

Date of operation (first employees started)

November 2016

Date of 1st loan disbursed

February 2017

Date of the initial rebrand to Business Fuel

October 2018

Subsidiary of GENFIN Holdings (100% shareholder)

August 2021

5-year anniversary

November 2021

Milestone: 1st billion disbursed with 41 500 applications processed

December 2021

Moved to new premises at Vineyard Office Estate, Cape Town

March 2022

Rebrand to GENFIN

November 2022

Leadership Team

Merwe Scholtz

Founder and Chairman

Merwe completed his studies at the University of Stellenbosch in 1998 after which he commenced his career at Capitec Bank. He founded a number of lending businesses during the period 2005 to 2017. During 2019 he consolidated his interests in GENFIN.

B Comm (Law)

Doreth Marais

Managing Director

Doreth has gained over 20 years’ experience building start-up businesses into established national and international brand names of which 10 years has been in the Credit industry. Given her numerical background, she is passionate about utilising data to inform business and credit decisions. During her career, Doreth has gained valued experience serving on both the Executive Committee’s in the organisation she has worked with as well as the Board of Directors.

MBA | BSc Actuarial Science

John Haveman

Finance Director

Since completing his articles at PWC, John has gained more than 20 years of finance experience in financial services, private equity, logistics, manufacturing, and chemicals sectors, including eleven years as CFO of a JSE-listed group, KAP Industrial.

CA(SA) | B.Comm (Hons) Accounting

Adéle Hanekom

Executive: Operations

Adéle started her career in Finance, qualifying as a Chartered Certified Account in the UK 15 years ago. She gained extensive financial experience working for Trinity Mirror plc and Thomson Reuters. Since returning from the UK, she has directed her focus towards operational roles in the financial sector.

FCCA | CIA | BTech: Financial Information Systems

Andrea van Greunen

Executive: Growth Marketing & Special Projects

Andrea has over a decade of corporate managerial experience with leading local and international brands. She has actively been involved within various corporate, start up and scale up environments and is driven by an unwavering commitment to get things done. She has founded an operational consulting business and brings an entrepreneurial approach to the table.

BA Integrated Marketing Communications

Shaun Hartley

Executive: Business Development & Sales

Shaun joined Genfin in 2023 and is responsible for the Sales and Business Development. Prior to that he was a Regional Head of Investec Corporate and Institutional Banking’s Transactional Banking Team. He has held various roles at Standard Bank and Absa, spanning across the Business Banking and Mid Corporate areas. He brings with him more than 15 years of general and transactional banking and debt finance solutions.

Advanced Diploma: Financial Markets & Banking | B-Tech: Wealth Management

Nijinka Boshoff

Executive: Human Resources

Nijinka is a registered Independent Psychometrist and Integral Life Coach. She has 20 plus years corporate experience in all areas of Human Resources in the Financial Industry.

BA Personnel Management | Psychology (Hons) | Psychometrist

Debra Venter

Head of Legal & Collections

Debra was admitted as an attorney in 2013 and thereafter gained experience in practice for 6 years, with the right of appearance in the High Court, before leaving practice and embarking on leading Genfin’s Legal Department. She has a vast knowledge of debt collection, general civil litigation, and commercial law.

LL.B | LL.M Import & Export Law | Admitted Attorney

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Our Values

Embracing change

We grow by embracing change and seeing things in a positive light.

Care about people

We make time to communicate effectively, value each other, treat others fairly, work as a team and express our gratitude.

Responsibility & accountability

We are reliable, meet our commitments and take responsibility and accountability for our actions, good and bad.

Excellence

We are efficient, innovative, professional and better than the rest! We get it done.

Open, honest & respectful

We are open, honest and respectful towards ourselves and others without fear of repercussion.

Learning & developing

We grow by creating and embracing opportunities to learn and develop and we share our knowledge and insights.