Beyond FinTech. Who will benefit from an open ecosystem – with Skwile

We increasingly hear references to ‘FinTech’ in our everyday. No longer solely a topic of interest to the financial or computing media, it is frequently the subject of lifestyle and news stories. Through a series of linked seminars, the Japan Society is celebrating this new phase in the UK-Japan relationship, which sees many Japanese individuals and companies active within London’s technology hubs.

 

Our final seminar will feature Makoto Fukuhara, managing director at Skwile Ltd., who will discuss how financial technology can provide a solution to the cash flow problems frequently faced by small and medium-sized enterprises. In this session, we will take a closer look at the uses of financial technology to solve social problems.

 

Business surveys consistently indicate that, while the UK scores highly with regard to the number of new businesses established each year, many of these struggle to survive past their first trading year. One of the main issues facing small and medium-sized enterprises is cash flow. During periods of high economic growth or for larger businesses, it is relatively easy to raise finance by prioritising market share over sales, net capital or profit. However, during periods of economic recession, SMEs often have limited assets and find it difficult to gain the finance they need. When the customer gains the upper hand, consistent late payment of debts presents problems for small business even when they are growing in real terms.

 

In the UK, in order to improve fundraising opportunities for SMEs, the government and financial institutions are working on implementing new systems and policies to increase financing and investment aimed at SMEs. Against this background, companies such as Skwile combine know-how and IT in the field of finance, including fund management and risk management, and develop and provide the financing platforms “FundlinQ” and “Cashflow-CaFE (Cash Flow Engine)” based on their own indicators and risk models.

 

“FundlinQ”is a cloud-based financing platform that will provide finance intermediation services based on fund management and credit management information, for SMEs and financial institutions (in the UK, mainly in the alternative finance market) with the aim of increasing the financing and financing opportunities for both of them. “Cashflow-CaFE” is an analysis support service for finance management business, aimed at SMEs.

 

In this series of seminars, we began by considering whether Fintech could provide a response to the problem of social inclusion. After exploring various aspects of financial technology in the previous sessions, we will return to this fundamental question in the last seminar of the series. And we will also go further discussing what we can see beyond the trend of digitalisation?

 

Following an open session for questions and discussion, the evening will conclude with an informal networking reception.

 

We are extremely grateful to Mitsubishi Corporation for generously hosting this seminar.

 

Makoto Fukuhara is Managing Director at Skwile Ltd. He has been in IT-Finance for more than 20 years, having worked with IBM amongst others. He is driven by a desire to use technology to make life easier for small businesses and give them access to the sort of information that is normally the preserve of larger businesses.

 

Skwile Ltd. is a FinTech start-up at the leading edge of changing the SME credit market. The current market is highly inefficient with unbalanced supply and demand, made worse by the cash illiteracy of many SMEs. For the purpose of fixing that gap we offers the cloud-based service, called “Cashflow-CaFE (Cash Flow Engine)”, which works as a value chain between SMEs and their accountants, making both businesses effective. Cashflow-CaFE provides the fact-based insights that enable them to see current and future cash health. For example, it automatically highlights impending cash shortfall risks, and advises on what steps to take before it is too late. This is all shown by Cashflow-CaFE’s automated, real-time digital information, which means there’s nothing you have to do in Cashflow-CaFE. You can now imagine how Cashflow-CaFE would be used by banks. It will help fill many of the bank’s roles because it is basically designed to work as relationship manager, finance and credit controller by using new technology. This will help them cope with reducing the number of bank branch offices, and the transition of many of the current paper-based manual operations to automated ones.

 

To reserve your place, please call the Japan Society office on 020 3075 1996 or email events@japansociety.org.uk.

 

Admission Free but Booking essential

 

In association with: Mitsubishi Corporation International (Europe) Plc, CaFE