ApexPeak hands Umati Capital a $10 million finance line

By: ApexPeak Pte Ltd
 
Aug. 21, 2014 - PRLog -- Kenya, 15 August, 2014. Africa’s hottest fintech start-up, Umati Capital, sealed a deal with ApexPeak in July 2014,

securing a first line of wholesale capital. The finance line will commence at US$300,000 per month, and is expected

to grow to US$5-7 million per month before the end of the year.

Umati Capital are set to disrupt traditional supply chain finance. Having competed a six-month pilot of their

proprietary solution, M-Trader, the founders of Umati Capital are keen to take M-Trader nationwide, and open their

doors to every agriculture-related business in Kenya.

M-Trader is one of three mobile applications launched as part of a suite, designed to make the adoption of invoice

discounting easy for SME farmers and multi-nationals.

“We are confident our loan book will grow twenty-fold come December 2014. Since the launch of M-Trader, we have

attracted a pipeline of over 50,000 active users,” says co-founder Ivan Mbowa.

“Four large industrial companies purchasing volume agriculture products for retail sale have also joined the

programme, and we expect this number to grow before the year is out.”

When Umati went shopping for funding earlier this year, banks and non-bank providers of capital were shy to lend

the start-up the capital it needed. ApexPeak stepped in and signed a six-month agreement, providing US$300,000 to

begin with, and scope to finance Umati in excess of US$10 million per month.

African Trade Insurance Agency closed the circle, underwriting the capital.

“ApexPeak was willing to provide us with a larger investment compared to other financiers. Its credibility as an

anchor debt investor has made all the difference. Since ApexPeak came on board, many doors have opened to

additional finance should we need it.”

Gakim Solomons, CEO of ApexPeak, saw the deal with Umati as straightforward. “We understand the challenges of

setting up a supply chain finance platform. We were interested in the credit worthiness of the buyers, and the banks

were interested in the credit worthiness of Umati. As Umati has no trading history, there was a problem.”

ApexPeak is pioneering new technology for the digital banking age. The relationship with Umati Capital is key.

“Most companies, when they talk about supply chain finance, struggle to get SMEs to adopt simple measures like

paperless invoicing,” says Gakim.

“Umati has gone one step further and shown the industry that supply chain finance can work from a cell phone. We

are hoping Umati will make its technology available to other markets”.

ApexPeak Pte Ltd 201311998C The Metropolis Tower 2 #08-09, 11 North Buana Vista Drive, Singapore 138589

apexPeak.com . Singapore . South Africa

About ApexPeak

ApexPeak eases cash-flow problems faced by SMEs and MNCs by buying e-invoices before they fall due. Founded in 2013,

the firm provides funding lines in excess of USD1.3 billion, to businesses located in APMEA (Asia Pacific, Middle East and

Africa). ApexPeak is headquartered in Singapore, with a second office located in Cape Town, South Africa.

Visit www.ApexPeak.com to find out more.

About Umati Capital

Umati Capital Limited is a non-bank financial intermediary headquartered in Kenya serving markets in in East &

Southern Africa. We are focused on the provision of supply chain finance across various agribusiness value chains .

We leverage technology to provide financing to SMEs who supply to larger entities.

Media contact

Anthony Coundouris, Marketing, ApexPeak

media@apexpeak.om
End
Source:ApexPeak Pte Ltd
Email:***@apexpeak.com
Tags:ApexPeak, Umati, Fintech, SME, Financing
Industry:Business, Loans
Subject:Partnerships
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