When the Northern Cape experienced one of the worst droughts in more than a century, the area lost all of its vegetation, leaving farmers with no food for their livestock.
The knock-on effect was devastating. Farmers were unable to provide for their animals, and by extension, their families and employees. Even related businesses, like abattoirs, were battling to keep their doors open and downscaled to four day work weeks.
Elma Nieuwoudt and her family, fifth-generation farmers, were in the thick of it. They were faced with two options: sell all their livestock or get a loan. Naturally, they chose the latter but were turned away by multiple financial institutions, including a niche agricultural bank.
“Nobody wanted to fund us, even though we had long-term relationships with several financial institutions, a squeaky clean credit history, and zero debt. The banks treated every applicant the same and didn’t understand farming. They turned us all away, without even trying to come up with a solution,” says Elma.
After an associate introduced Elma to the Geddes team, we quickly set about collaborating to find an innovative funding solution to not only help the farm business survive the drought but thrive when the rains fell.
The business loan enabled the Nieuwoudt family to retain and feed 50% of their breeding livestock. When the drought broke, they were able to breed again and recover. The farm managed to turn a profit after just two years, unlike so many other farmers who either took over five years to recover or didn’t recover at all.
Due to the innovative business loan solution supplied by Geddes Capital, the Nieuwoudt family could steer clear of a potential financial disaster enabling the Nieuwoudt family to feed more South Africans and keep their farm profitable.
Elna has since referred many associates to Geddes;
When you deal with Geddes, you speak directly to the decision-makers, Brent and Warren, who really understand business on a deep level. Their turnaround time was unprecedented. They swiftly enabled a way forward, which helped us make the most of our situation, and preserve our farming business and lifestyle for generations to come.
Elma Nieuwoudt