Biz Builder Mike

You can't sail Today's boat on Yesterdays wind - Michael Noel

Australian SME Banking Challenger Judo Bank to Use Cloud based Bank Operating System Developed by nCino

by

Australia-based SME challenger bank Judo Bank has chosen nCino (NASDAQ: NCNO) to help streamline its lending processes. Judo Bank will be using nCino’s Cloud-powered platform to enhance its services which are mainly intended for small businesses.

nCino, Inc. is an established cloud banking and digital transformation solutions provider for the financial services sector. nCino’s Banking Operating System will be used by Judo Bank to improve its lending operations.

Judo Bank will be working cooperatively with nCino so that the digital challenger can automate key aspects of its banking processes.

As mentioned in a release:

“As part of the nCino Bank Operating System, Judo will implement nCino’s Commercial Banking Solution, which automates workflows and provides real-time reporting, elements of the credit analysis process and digital document management capabilities to drive a transparent and fully digital end-to-end lending process.”

Tim Alexander, Chief Product Officer at Judo Bank, said that Judo’s goal is to help Australian SMEs by “bringing back the craft of relationship banking and delivering the funding that SMEs desperately need and deserve.”

Alexander added that his company shares some of the same views as nCino which is why they chose them “to help disrupt the industry and deliver differentiated services to better finance the growth ambitions of Australian SMEs.”

Mark Bernhardi, General Manager of APAC at nCino, noted that his company is looking forward to working with Judo Bank. They’ll be helping the digital challenger with “creating a more efficient banking experience that is tailored to [its] clients’ individual needs,” Bernhardi said.

He added:

“Judo was created to be fast and nimble and to provide new options to SMEs across Australia. We look forward to building upon our partnership to support Judo’s craft of relationship banking, enabling them with the latest technology from nCino as they help their clients capitalise on the right opportunities at the right time.”

In May 2020, Judo Bank had managed to secure $250 million through an equity round and also achieved Unicorn status (companies valued at $1 billion or more).

nCino is a Wilmington, North Carolina-based Fintech that offers a cloud banking platform built on the Salesforce platform. It launched its initial public offering (IPO) in July 2020. The firm’s shares had rocketed on the NASDAQ as soon as trading began earlier this year.

Source

Small Business B2B Search Engine Developer, Grata, Is Using Machine Learning, NLP to Implement its SaaS Platform

by

Grata, a company developing the “first-of-its-kind” small business B2B search engine, has secured $3.2 million in seed funding. As mentioned in a release shared with CI, Grata’s investment round was led by Bling Capital along with participation from Accomplice and Alumni Ventures Group. Former executives from Goldman Sachs, American Express, and Citi also took part in Grata’s funding round..

Grata was founded in 2016 by Andrew Bocskocsky and Nevin Raj, two Harvard alumni, and classmates who, respectively, worked as consultants and investors at McKinsey and Palantir.

As mentioned in the announcement:

“[Grata’s founders] built and bootstrapped the company, whose mission is to make every small to mid-sized private company in the U.S. searchable, to well over 100 customers and 1,000 users. To date, business development professionals across private equity, investment banking, and recruiting have transacted over $1B with companies they’ve found through Grata.”

Grata is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that’s able to automate the B2B research process so that key information on the 30 million US businesses may be accessed by private equity and banking institutions.

Grata uses natural language processing (NLP) and web crawling technology. The automated solution may help reduce the time required to complete various processes which are being performed manually.

Andrew Bocskocsky, Co-Founder, CEO at Grata, states:

“Grata is the first search engine for company discovery, providing a single source of truth to find small to middle market private companies. …Grata indexes billions of sources on the web and has innovated the latest NLP technology.”

As noted by the Grata team:

“[Our] machine learning technology enables you to identify similar companies, find new targets you would otherwise miss, and automate personalized outreach. Grata’s platform also powers a suite of digital intelligence products for voice of customer diligence and competitive intelligence.”

Grata’s official website notes that middle-market firms and SMBs are more than “99% of your opportunities.” The company’s solutions can help businesses with “capturing hard to find companies that aren’t in the news or raising capital.”

Source

Digital Financial Services Firm Konfio Obtains $58.8 Million Credit Line to Help Mexican Women Access Financing Options

by

For the first time ever (in September 2019), giant Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs’ (NYSE:GS) structured finance division provided a $100 million secured credit facility to Mexico-based Fintech startup Konfio Ltd.

As reported last year, the funds were to be directed toward Konfio’s business operations, which include providing unsecured working capital to SMBs. Goldman Sachs’ transaction was expected to assist Konfio in lending approximately $250 million over the next 12 months.

Konfío has again obtained a credit line for 1,300 million pesos (appr. $58.8 million) from IDB Invest, the financial investment division of the Inter-American Development Bank. Konfio and IDB Invest have reportedly agreed to work cooperatively to finalize certain initiatives that are focused on closing critical gaps to accessing financing for women living and working in Mexico.

Konfio, a digital financial services firm, noted:

“The line begins with a commitment of 800 million pesos, which can be expanded to 1,300 million pesos and will be available for a period of up to 6.5 years, assuming three disbursement and repayment cycles. With this line, Konfío continues to expand its capacity to grant loans to SMEs in Mexico.”

David Arana, CEO at Konfío, said that the impact of the Coronavirus crisis has been “especially strong” on SMEs based in Mexico (and in other parts of the world). Arana added that his company realizes how important it can be to support important or high-potential businesses during these unprecedented times.

Arana also mentioned:

“Thanks to data and advanced technology, we are able to identify businesses with potential that deserve to be supported in these difficult conditions.”

Konfío’s management noted that they’ve introduced what they consider to be more inclusive human resources (HR) guidelines. They’ve also reportedly reviewed and updated their gender equality work policies.

The company stated:

“Konfío will be the first Fintech in Mexico to develop a market strategy based on gender.”

Mexico’s SME loan market may potentially be worth around $ 100 billion, but the current market is valued at below $45 billion. Although there seems to be a lot of capacity for growth, lending from traditional banks has been flat during the past few years.

Head of structured finance, investment, and lending at Goldman Sachs Ram Sundaram stated (in September 2019):

“Konfio brings a unique approach to credit underwriting for a segment of the market that’s poorly served in Mexico and more broadly across the region.”

Konfio’s founder and CEO David Arana had said last year that the firm’s plan is to expand its operations into using collateral or guarantees, which would allow the company to issue larger loans than its average of $20,000.

Konfio’s proprietary technology monitors and analyzes credit behavior and gathers other types of data for research purposes. The company’s data analytics tools allow it to respond to clients in a timely manner and make disbursements within 24 hours. Traditional loans to SMBs can take months to approve, and require guarantees and collateral.

Source