Business

Times are hard for many South Africans. Living costs are rising faster than salaries, leading many households to rely on credit to meet their financial needs. According to Finmark Trust (https://apo-opa.co/4679HVD), 75% of adults who borrowed in 2024 used the credit for essentials like food. This issue is particularly stark among low-income earners who often turn to costly micro-lenders and exploitative loan sharks.  

But a new concept, earned wage access, provides a strong alternative, and digital technologies are making it simple for employers to offer this service. 

The burden of low-income earners 

Living expenses and debt burdens pressure some households, while others have sudden emergencies such as medical or vehicle bills. A shortfall of household savings often pushes people towards micro- and informal lenders. 

These avenues dramatically increase the cost of lending, with legal lenders able to charge 5% interest monthly (https://apo-opa.co/4oNtKzI) as well as numerous administrative fees. Such arrangements can lead cash-strapped earners into deeper financial holes, isolating them from more palatable credit options. 

While some can borrow against their salaries, it creates considerable work for employers who need to administer the loans, manage repayment processes, and avoid risks such as money laundering and bank account fraud.  

"Corporates spend a lot of their time managing resources, so our teams are inundated with requests from either lending or trying to understand how to manage people's cash flow. We have many examples where people come through and see how they can access some portion of their money if they have a medical emergency or if they have some type of financial distress. They try their best to really fix that issue," says Jarred Deacon, Head of Growth at TymeBank ZA. 

This is why TymeBank has partnered with Deel Local Payroll to provide early wage access (EWA), a financial empowerment service for businesses that offers a financial lifeline to their struggling employees. 

EWA arrives in SA 

EWA is not a standard credit service that loans money to individuals. Instead, an employee withdraws a portion of wages they have already earned that month, paid to a predesignated account or provided as vouchers through retailers such as Boxer stores.  

"We empower the employee and give them the opportunity to access the money as they earn. Instead of waiting for the 25th, instead of waiting for your payday, you can draw down when you feel you are ready or when you need your money. So, we're empowering employees through ease of use," says Deacon. 

The service first appeared in the early 2010s in the United States, and well over 7 million US workers used EWA in 2022 (https://apo-opa.co/4lNofyc) for $22 billion in transactions, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report. EWA is very attractive, with a majority of employees expecting such payment flexibility from their employers. Today, major corporations, including Walmart and McDonald's, offer EWA. 

The service is growing in South Africa, where TymeBank and Paymenow are leading the trend in collaboration with Deel Local Payroll's PaySpace platform.  

"EWA is a modern fintech product. It uses automation and API integration to streamline the underlying processes, making access easy while taking care of regulatory requirements. By using a cloud-native payroll platform such as ours, financial institutions extend EWA services to businesses and their employees. It's fast, safe, and keeps overheads low," says Warren van Wyk, Director at Deel Local Payroll. 

Responsible finance 

Is it responsible to let employees access their salaries early? While this is a concern, most employees are using EWA wisely, only accessing relatively small portions of their wages.  

According to Paymenow (https://apo-opa.co/3HUTp92), the average employee draws around 10% of their monthly wages ahead of paydays. Employers are also able to set a cap on withdrawals, typically between 25% and 30%. 

EWA avoids lending conditions where fees and repayments can dramatically exceed the loaned amounts. The service also improves productivity and employee wellbeing, since many employees say that financial stress occupies their minds while working, and some spend several work hours focusing on personal finance issues. 

Financial worries and lack of access to reasonable credit options are pushing many South Africans to the brink, heaping pressure on their jobs, their families, and their employers. Early wage access, powered by cloud-native digital fintech platforms, provides an alternative that employees can trust and employers can control. 

"It's amazingly seamless," says Van Wyk. "In some examples, employees can access funds through USSD menus or apps on their phones, and the financial service provider handles most of the due diligence and compliance, not the employer. We've often heard that digital innovation can democratise finance for more South Africans. EWA is an excellent example of that promise in action."

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Deel Local Payroll, powered by PaySpace.

For media queries please contact Victoria Lindsay:
victoria@innocomm.co.za

About Deel Local Payroll:
Deel Local Payroll, powered by PaySpace, revolutionises payroll management. It offers online, multi-country payroll and HR management for businesses from start-ups through to enterprise in over 40 African countries, the United Kingdom, the Middle East, and Brazil. 

Cloud-native, Deel Local Payroll, is scalable, configurable, highly secure, and easy-to-use—delivering anytime, anywhere access. It features payroll automation, self-service features, automatic legislation and feature updates, customised reporting, and more. 

Since 2024, Deel Local Payroll has been part of Deel, operating as an independent subsidiary, serving its customers through the PaySpace platform.

Solar panel imports into Africa rose by 60% in the 12 months to June 2025, according to a new analysis (https://apo-opa.co/47StRDY) of China's solar panel exports data from energy think tank Ember (https://Ember-Energy.org/). The data shows how the rise happened across Africa, and it is at a scale to impact the electricity system of many countries. 

Solar imports rise across most African countries in the 12 months to June 2025 

The analysis shows that Africa's solar panel imports set a new record in the 12 months to June 2025, reaching 15,032 MW - a 60% increase on the 9,379 MW imported in the preceding 12 months.  

The last time imports surged was in 2023, when South Africa solar imports picked up as the power crisis hit its peak. However, this time is different - much of the pick-up in the last 12 months happened outside of South Africa. 20 countries set a new record for the imports of solar panels in the 12 months to June 2025. 25 countries imported at least 100 MW, up from 15 countries 12 months before. 

In the last 12 months to June 2025, Nigeria overtook Egypt to become the second-largest importer with 1,721 MW of solar panel imports in the past year, while Algeria ranked third with 1,199 MW. 

Some countries recorded very high growth rates. Algeria's imports rose 33-fold, Zambia eightfold, Botswana sevenfold, and Sudan sixfold, while Liberia, DRC, Benin, Angola and Ethiopia all more than tripled their imports.

Despite these record imports of solar panels, there is no data to know how many have yet been installed. “Bottom-up energy transitions fueled by cheap solar are no longer a choice - they're our future. Tracking these additions is what makes the difference between a messy shift and an organised, accelerated one," said Muhammad Mustafa Amjad, Program Director at Renewables First. "When you don't track, you lose time and opportunities. Pakistan's experience shows this clearly. Africa's transition will happen regardless, but with timely data it can be more equitable, planned and inclusive.” 

The analysis finds that recent imports could make a major contribution to electricity generation in many African countries. If fully installed, imports in Sierra Leone in the last 12 months could generate electricity equivalent to 61% of reported electricity generation in 2023, while in Chad the figure is 49%. Liberia, Somalia, Eritrea, Togo and Benin could see generation rise by more than 10% of reported 2023 generation. In total, 16 countries could see an increase of over 5%. 

The report describes how solar panel imports may actually reduce overall imports. The savings from avoiding diesel can repay the cost of a solar panel within six months in Nigeria, and even less in other countries. In nine of the top ten solar panel importers, the import value of refined petroleum eclipses the import value of solar panels by a factor of between 30 to 107. 

More data and evidence needed to unlock potential 

Further evidence is urgently needed to understand the rapid rise in solar across Africa and its potential to expand electricity systems. No single data source captures the full picture, and much more research and reporting are required. 

Dave Jones, Chief Analyst at Ember, said: “The take-off of solar in Africa is a pivotal moment. This report is a call to action, urging stronger research, analysis and reporting on solar's rise to ensure the world's cheapest electricity source fulfils its vast potential to transform the African continent.” 

This surge is still in its early days. Pakistan experienced an immense solar boom in the last two years, but Africa is not the next Pakistan - yet. However, change happens quickly. And the first evidence is now here. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ember.

Notes to Editor:
The report will be published here at 00:01 London on Tuesday 26 August 2025: https://apo-opa.co/47StRDY
Media Pack (https://apo-opa.co/3JvfSdr) - including the press release, report, all chart images and data files 

Media enquiries:
Rini Sucahyo 
Head of Global Strategic Communications, Ember 
rini@ember-energy.org 
+62 8111 800741 

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About Ember: 
Ember is an independent energy think tank that aims to accelerate the clean energy transition with data and policy. It creates targeted data insights to advance policies that urgently shift the world to a clean, electrified energy future. Ember also has electricity data for African countries and continues to expand its resources to support future analysis on the continent.