How one UAE-based fintech is looking to process $200bln in trade finance

How one UAE-based fintech is looking to process $200bln in trade finance

Access to finance is one of the biggest obstacles to business growth for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), according to the World Bank. The global trade finance gap is estimated to have increased to $1.7 trillion in 2020 from $1.5 trillion in 2018, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fintech startups see that gap as a business opportunity. Among them is Modifi, a digital trade finance platform for business payments and trade management software. It steps in to help SMEs pay their sellers instantly while giving them the option to pay later, according to Ankit Goel, Modifi’s senior vice-president of global accounts.

“SMEs struggle to open lines of credit but are required to pay suppliers fast, which can leave an SME strapped for cash after it delivers goods if it isn’t paid immediately. This is where fintech companies and cross-border trade management platforms like Modifi come into play,” he said.

Modifi claims to serve thousands of exporters and importers across more than 40 countries. It is headquartered in Berlin but has offices in the US, the UAE, India, Bangladesh and China.

“The company has grown four times year-on-year, with recent launches in Pakistan and the UK in addition to our eight existing markets,”