This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.
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1. THE BEGINNING
This innovation initially came to life when…
…a) we looked at the supply chain finance market and realised that the only offerings to borrowers were property collateral finance, or expensive credit card or trade card solutions; b) we looked at the peer-to-peer market and saw that there was an opportunity to offer investors a good yield with strong credit analytics and rating analysis in house, as well as offer real-time investment detail and borrower detail; c) we realised the startup phase has a difficult debt-raising period.
2. WHAT & HOW
The purpose of this innovation is to…
…enable borrowers to go direct to investors and obtain funding at pricing that is competitive, stable and consistent; enable investors the ability to get yield and transparency in what they are investing.
It does this by…
We provide an online marketplace where a borrower makes an application online. We perform external credit checks, perform an internal financial analysis and then perform a patented rating assessment. Upon result of the rating, we then place the loan online in a competitive auction environment for investors to bid, and subsequently trade parts of the loan when settled.
3. PURPOSE & BENEFITS
This innovation improves on what came before because…
Financial institutions or wealth funds don’t offer the yield or the transparency in the risk. They don’t match borrower with investor. Marketlend gives complete transparency to the borrower and investors so they can get real-time data on performance and the risks. It offers liquidity to the investors, they can sell or buy other loans on Marketlend.
Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…
It reduces the cost of intermediaries in the finance process so making it cheaper for the borrower and a better yield for the investors. It reduces the administration work of the borrower as we pay the suppliers and handle admin.
4. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
In the past, this problem was solved by…
Non-banks offered some solutions but no peer-to-peer lenders in Australia offer supply chain finance, and we are the first to offer the finance and admin solution. Some financiers offered some solutions but did not give access to the capital markets to the end user.
Its predecessors/competitors include…
…personal loans, corporate cards, American Express offering trade cards or suppliers offering trade terms.
5. TARGET MARKET
It is made for…
…small-to-medium businesses to improve their terms of credit by matching their receivables with their payables.
Typically our customer is the customer who needs terms of credit of 30/60/90 days and we provide the trade credit terms for the days.
We then pay the supplier on invoice which means the supplier is also a winner as he gets paid early and can remove any debt collection terms or works he needs to deal with.
For investors who are seeking higher yields, it offers a better return than term deposits and the risk is assessable.
It is available for sale through…
…our website (www.marketlend.com.au) and by referrers or brokers.
Our marketing strategy is to…
We aim to market our product to the suppliers and small businesses through associations, online marketing – Google etc., word of mouth and also by brokers.
FINE PRINT: This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.