AFG partners with online lender

AFG has added Prospa’s unsecured small-business loan to its lending panel, and the online lender will help educate AFG’s broker network on the unique circumstances facing small businesses, and how cash-flow lending delivers genuine opportunities for growth.

Mark Hewitt, general manager of sales and operations at AFG, said the market is demanding faster and simpler ways of funding SMEs, and Prospa delivers just that.

“We’re looking for growth in business lending. With our listing on the ASX in May this year, we are in a strong position to build on the strengths of our core mortgage broking business and to expand our product offering,” he said.

“AFG is very pleased to partner with Prospa to provide this opportunity to our brokers and their clients.”

Prospa CEO Beau Bertoli said the biggest winner from its relationship with AFG will be Australian small businesses.

“There are two million small businesses in Australia and they frequently find it difficult to access funding, as they are considered too risky,” Mr Bertoli said.

“Demand for cash-flow loans has risen over the past five or six years. Big businesses are tightening up their working capital and are taking longer to pay the smaller ones.

“In just over two years, we’ve loaned over $60 million to thousands of Australian small businesses, and demand is escalating. We’re not surprised other players in the finance industry are looking to capture this growth in small-business lending.”