Exciting news from 88mph 2013 alumni startup, ApexPeak
January 30th, 2015
When Gakim Solomons brought ApexPeak to us 2 years ago, he wanted to build a smarter system that could provide SME’s with short-term capital. He explained the system the banks were using, which was needlessly inefficient and expensive, leaving many businesses under-serviced, and incapable of growing their businesses.
We were taken, both by Gakim, who had many years experience in banking and capital markets, and by the enormity of the problem (and market) he was attempting to tackle. The problem was especially poignant throughout emerging markets, as credit data and centralized rating systems are rare, if any exist at all.
This week, Apex Peak announced that it was acquiring fintech startup Cashnomix, an invoice discounting business operating out of Dubai. Cashnomix had been in the spotlight in late 2014 after completing a prototype credit scoring algorithm for invoices, as well as growing a deal book in the UAE to over USD1.2 million in SME receivables purchases. This acquisition gives ApexPeak a footprint in the Middle East, and complements its presence in other emerging markets,
Sujith Kurup, the founder of Cashnomix had been trying to solve the same problem as ApexPeak, ‘The process for small businesses to get short-term finance is still difficult and, the cost of borrowing from traditional lenders is very high, at between 18-30% per annum’, he told news reporters. ‘The Cashnomix risk model solves this dilemma. The algorithm we have built collects signals from a large variety of sources to determine a score and a confidence index for each invoice’
We’ve experienced over the past few years that innovative and resource efficient solutions, like new technologies offer, can make a world of difference in fast growing, emerging markets where access to business services like short-term capital is still a labour-intense, cumbersome process.
Gakim also weighed in on the purchase of early-stage Cashnomix, ‘The credit scoring application has far reaching consequences for our operations in Southeast Asia and Africa as well. The result is faster underwriting. Today, we can provide SMEs with an answer in five days. Tomorrow, we will be able to approve transactions in a fraction of the time. We will bring alternative finance to a part of the world where finance for small-enterprise owners is desperately needed’.
We at 88mph are thrilled that, with this newest acquisition, Gakim and ApexPeak are a step closer to their mission of delivering quick, affordable financing to small & medium high-growth businesses across emerging markets.
