Another year, another reflections and predictions article (sorry). Not to worry, we’ll give you just the highlights and good reason to feel optimistic about supply chain finance in 2024. 

Obviously we saw strong headwinds in 2023, which is just another way of saying that the market was tough. But rather than cut IT budgets, financial services providers actually increased spending (+8%) on technology and refocused on the items that really deliver results. 

Of the $652.1bn spent, software was the biggest growth sector (+13.5%). That’s good news for ourselves. We expect spending to move away from building in-house this year in favour of buying solutions that generate returns quickly.

Best of all, we can expect a move away from the manual, fragmented and repurposed systems plaguing our industry, and progress in the form of digital solutions. 

The key word is digitisation. 

Our own customers have shown that managing all open account products on a single, digital system pays dividends. Change is rapid, and any who fall behind competitors’ digital capabilities put themselves at risk. Especially in an uncertain climate.

With that said, here’s a quick round-up of our recent coverage to give you a glimpse into how the landscape is changing:

New products hold promise in new markets

Banks & NBFIs across Africa are expanding their distributor finance capabilities to capture more clients. Investment in IT infrastructure is critical. [link] 

New technology expands access to financing 

Insufficient technology and operational complexity have restricted many sophisticated open account products to all but a small number of large corporates. Until now. [link] 

You should also know that the next phase of FinverityOS is coming soon. We’ll not spoil it here, but expect flexibility and efficiency like you’ve never seen before… 

NBFIs see the need for digitisation

Providing fast and flexible financing to SMEs is no easy task. Digitisation is equipping many organisations with the tools to manage big risks and big operational workloads. [link]

Corporates explore non-traditional financing

Smart working capital solutions are helping companies – and their partners – navigate tight financial conditions and increasingly complex supply chains. [link]

By the way, one of our partner banks, NBF, won the Best Innovation in Trade Finance Award at the MEA Finance Banking Technology Awards 2023 for their role in connecting corporates with working capital financing. 

Partnerships hold the key to growth 

An alliance between fintechs and consultants means that implementation and integration of new products and features is much easier than it was. Timelines are tumbling. [link]

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Last year, we redoubled our efforts to make working capital and supply chain finance work for banks & NBFIs. To that end, we expanded our headcount, rebranded, and extended our reach into new markets. 

This year, with the global trade finance gap at $2.5tn, we need to go even further. Expect exciting news on appointments, platform upgrades, and a lot more besides in the coming months. 

For now, happy 2024!

If you want to see what a single, seamless system for supply chain looks like for your business, speak to one of our experts.