Contxto – After acquiring Colombian company Capital Logistic, OmniBnk, the neobank for SMEs born in Chile, is now operating in Colombia, too.
In Summary
Offering companies up to US$1 million in credits approved in less than 24 hours, the Chilean startup took the leap north to scale operations. For this, Capital Logistic’s acquisition was a wise move.
“We are looking for a competent player supplied with a network of corporate and suppliers,” said Diego Caicedo, CEO of OmniBnk. “We want to transform the offer of products to deliver robust solutions to SMEs.”
“It was fundamental that the chosen company develops its operation from the understanding of a digital ecosystem to avoid creating a similar company in Colombia. Capital Logistic had the virtual DNA we needed and the acquisition was an excellent idea.”
The neobank has about 150 large buyers in the country, all of which have previously worked with Capital Logistic. It also has 10,000 suppliers, mostly SMEs, actively seeking financing.
In-Depth
OmniBnk has been working with a team of about 100 people to design risk models based on Big Data and Machine Learning. In the process, this model changed the definition of financing within supply chains. It also created credit programs for suppliers to effectively solve the needs of SMEs.
In 2018, Capital Logistic achieved US$100 million in financing lines for SMEs. After merging with Omnibnk, it is expected to reach US$1 billion in operations, increasing 10-fold their current customer base.
“With respect to our products, OmniBnk goes beyond Confirming and Electronic Factoring to provide complete working capital solutions for SMEs,” said Caicedo. “They’re structured and approved instantly.”
Lack of funding isn’t only a serious problem for startups but also traditional SMEs. In fact, not having enough liquid capital to purchase inventory or withstand long payable periods ruins seven out of 10 companies. Normally, these companies don’t make it past the first five years of operation.
“There are three important reasons why it’s difficult to obtain financing in the SME segment. The first has to do with the way in which we analyze credit risk. The second has to do with the way customer reach credit risk and how they achieve efficient results. The third lies in the structuring of the products that an SME really needs and the conditions under which those services are offered, “said Caicedo.
Not only can SMEs use OmniBnk’s services but also corporate clients. The goal is to better understand suppliers and clients by using the same tools that organizations use to analyze internal risks. Partners use these resources to better understand the counterparty risks that may arise and ways to solve them.
-VC
