Business funding platform, Lula, has entered into a strategic collaboration with Payfast by Network, enabling Payfast merchants to access fast, flexible funding directly within their payments environment.

The collaboration brings Lula’s embedded funding solutions to Payfast’s extensive e-commerce merchant base, supporting digitally enabled SMEs with capital that is contextual, data-driven and aligned to real trading activity. For merchants, this means easier access to growth funding without stepping outside the platforms they already use to run their businesses.

The agreement forms part of Lula’s broader embedded finance strategy, which focuses on meeting SMEs at their point of need by integrating funding into trusted operational tools rather than requiring separate applications or traditional lending processes.

“Rather than asking small businesses to step outside their day-to-day tools to access funding, we’re embedding capital directly into the platforms where businesses already operate and transact,” said David Winter, SVP: Business Development at Lula. “Collaborating with Payfast allows us to support merchants at precisely the moment funding can make the biggest difference, while strengthening Lula’s role as financial infrastructure within the SME ecosystem.”

E-commerce merchants often face funding challenges as they scale, including cash-flow gaps driven by stock purchases, marketing spend, platform investments, or seasonal demand spikes. Traditional funding models, with lengthy approval processes and rigid repayment terms, can slow momentum at critical growth stages.

By integrating access to Lula’s funding solutions, Payfast is extending its value proposition beyond payments to support merchants with a more holistic growth toolkit.

“Access to fast, flexible funding is a critical enabler of sustainable growth for e-commerce businesses,” said Mpho Sadiki, Payfast Managing Director. “By collaborating with Lula, we’re able to offer merchants funding solutions that are aligned to their real trading performance, helping them reinvest confidently in their businesses and scale without unnecessary friction.”

For Lula, Payfast was a natural partner due to its scale, credibility, and deep understanding of SME payments behaviour. Both companies share an SME-first philosophy, prioritising simplicity, transparency and practical utility over complexity.

“Embedded finance only works when trust is already present,” Winter added. “By collaborating with established platforms like Payfast, we’re positioned alongside brands SMEs already know and rely on. That signals stability, credibility and long-term commitment - all of which are essential when it comes to funding.”

Over the next 12 to 18 months, the collaboration will focus on deeper integration, continuous optimisation and delivering measurable improvements in merchant cash flow, resilience and growth. The long-term goal is to build a scalable, trusted model for contextual SME funding that delivers lasting value across the ecosystem.