Supply chain finance solution based on portable financial identities
Gravity’s supply chain finance solution is a user-centric platform built on a decentralized identity. It benefits the whole supply chain ecosystem.
With Gravity:
- Merchants leverage data such as suppliers’ purchase history, verified KYC, and mobile money transactions to access working capital from a lender through Gravity.
- Suppliers avoid lock-in and having to integrate different lending solutions into their software stack to ensure merchants the most affordable rates.
- Lenders provide the working capital as earmarked credit through an API to these merchants without having to invest in supply chain lending infrastructure.
Problems:
The unmet demand for small business financing in Africa is around 330 billion. Why is this demand not met? Financial service providers lack the relevant information to provide the right products at the right price. This is especially true for supply chain financing. Lenders need to know the frequency and volume at which merchants purchase stock. In addition, they need to ensure that the funds provided aren’t being used for other things.
Gravity’s solution addresses both of these challenges by combining private peer-to-peer data sharing with an API that allows lenders to provide credit without the risk of fund diversion.
Here is how it works:
- Suppliers onboard their merchants. The merchants sign up to Gravity and add their purchase history along with other credit-relevant data to their profile.
- Merchants can use their profiles to apply for a loan. Lenders can approve a credit limit based on these profiles.
- When the sales agent comes to the shop, merchants can decide to activate the loan and pay part of their purchase on credit. Every time a merchant pays back a loan, another record is added to their profile.
The profiles allow merchants to use their positive payment record to access more affordable services in the future, from other lenders, or an entirely different platform, thanks to the portability and verifiability of their profile.
Gravity’s Supply chain finance solution benefits all the stakeholders:
Suppliers:
- Loyalty: Give your customers access to the goods
- Increase sales through better shopkeepers performance and loyalty
- Reduce Lender Lock-in: All your lending partners can lend through the same API
Lenders:
- Earmarked credit as a service: Provide earmarked supply chain credit without having to build your own infrastructure
- Expand customer base while minimising risks
Merchants:
- Access working capital at the best rates
- Leverage a growing, portable financial profile
