Jack Halfon is the founder and CEO of Atlas Finance.

Atlas was established in response to a significant need within the South African market. At the time, many economically active South Africans remained excluded from the formal credit system and had little alternative but to rely on unregulated lenders offering loans at excessive rates.
Jack recognised the need for a more responsible alternative – one built on affordability, transparency, professionalism and respect.

The first Atlas Finance branch opened in Eloff Street in the Johannesburg CBD in 1994, offering credit to employed South Africans who had little access to formal credit elsewhere.
Today, 32 years later, through its brick-and-mortar footprint of 320 branches, an online digital platform, and a contact center service, Atlas Finance offers a range of accessible financial services designed around the changing needs of its clients.

These include:

• Short-term personal loans: Loans ranging from R500 to R20,000, with repayment periods of between one and nine months.
• Insurance related products
• Cross-border money transfers: Affordable transfers that enable clients to send financial support to family members in neighbouring countries.
• Debt-review clearance assistance: Support for qualifying consumers to update their credit status once they have met the relevant requirements.

As the company’s leader Jack has always had ambitious and sometimes aggressive targets, which he believes could only have been achieved through his exceptional management and dedicated staff.

As a leader, Jack deeply values happiness and encourages laughter in his workplace. He believes that achieving aggressive goals, and having fun are not mutually exclusive, and he prioritises a culture in his business where his staff are as happy to come to work as he is, while simultaneously succeeding in reaching their targets.

Notwithstanding some incredible challenges along the way, I think the fact that the business is still growing 32 years later — with many of the people who started this journey with me still by my side, is a wonderful story.

I see incredible opportunities within South Africa in terms of both employment and financial inclusion. My goal for Atlas is to provide responsible and legitimate credit to more South Africans in a dignified, transparent and affordable manner.

Our short-term goal is to continue growing to 400 branches, and beyond that, while also improving our digital platforms, making our services easier to access. At the same time, we want to deepen the relationships we have with our clients, making sure that responsible credit, money transfers and debt-clearance support remain accessible to the communities that need them most.

We see Atlas Finance as a trusted partner that unlocks opportunity in the moment it is needed — whether that is school fees, bereavements, home improvements or cross-border family support.

While staying true to our family values, we will combine the strength of our physical branch network with ongoing innovation, so clients experience both personal service and modern convenience.

We are proud to be part of the formal credit industry which, in itself stimulates the economy. Our vision is a more inclusive financial landscape in which fewer people are forced into unregulated or exploitative lending.

Our aim is to continue helping to build an economy where working people can manage everyday needs and seize personal opportunities without compromising their long-term stability.

The biproduct of such a vision is, of course an increase in employment within the areas that we have a presence, and the positive economic knock-on effects of that.

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