LiqEase Development Update (Traxia)

BCR Supply Chain Summit 2019

At the event in Amsterdam, Tobias Pfuetze, founder and CEO of LiqEase, joined ABN AMRO, LogIndexAG, and Neurosoft representatives to discuss ‘ How technology is bridging the gap between the physical and financial supply chain’ . The panelists discussed how their companies are using technology to mitigate risk and detect fraud across supply chains. All agreed that AI and blockchain implementation, which has just begun, will take another five to ten years to be implemented into the daily processes of companies. It was clear that all panelists had the same goal, which was to improve liquidity within supply chain financing. As Tobias stated, " only by increasing trust and transparency can we mitigate risks that will give us the ability to have better pricing." In another panel, Bruno Botelho, LiqEase CMO, moderated a talk on “How digital platforms & networks can enable working capital” . The panel included representatives from CRX Markets, Interface Financial Group and FCI, the world’s largest network of factoring companies. Talking to an audience who was mostly comprised of traditional bankers, the panelists spoke of the importance of increasing the parties included in supply chain financing programs. No longer should it just be the top 20% of the largest suppliers, but also the remaining 80%, which would, therefore, include SMEs. Having access to a fast, affordable and simple on-boarding process would ensure this was a success. The panel also discussed the role that invoices play as a commodity, where they can be traded using a platform model. This means that different parties can access the market, and in doing so, close the gap between supply and demand.

This was a small but highly targeted event. The attendees were senior executives of banks, auditors, corporate treasurers and financial or procurement directors.

LiqEase FinTech booth at Paris Fintech Forum 2019

Members of LiqEase attended the Paris Fintech Forum at the end of the month. It is one of the biggest FinTech events in France and is part of Paris FinTech Week. It was a large and international event with 220+ CEO speakers, 150 FinTechs on stage, 2600+ attendees, 120 exhibitors, from 60+ countries.

LiqEase was particularly interested in the “Alternative Finance” sessions and actively participated in the “Trade Finance, invoice trading, & how FinTechs help businesses improve their cashflow” panel which was lead by the CEOs of Taulia, Traxpay, Credimi, and The Credit Junction. Another thought-provoking panel was "Marketplace debt as an Asset class ", where the CEOs of Crossland and Prodigy Finance provided their opinions from an originator perspective, while the European Investment Fund and Target Global shared their views as lenders. The lenders outlined that they were agnostic to the type of underlying asset, but in order to build a diversified portfolio, they invest in outstanding invoices, mortgages, student loans, credit card debt and real estate. Securitisation seems to be the new
trend in Europe, but the funding strategy of these platforms is still a mix that includes balance sheets and direct bank investments.

On the second day, LiqEase had a booth in the Palais Bongniart (former Paris stock exchange). Here they spoke to banks who were interested in learning about invoice discounting platforms and partnership opportunities.

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