"With 500,000 SMEs already in significant financial distress, we need to move quickly to protect the backbone of the British economy"
The partnership aims to ensure that SMEs can continue trading during the Covid-19 pandemic, after research from the British Chamber of Commerce foud that the majority of SMEs have just three months or fewer of cash reserves to keep them afloat.
Nimbla protects SMEs against insolvent customers with trade credit insurance on a per-invoice basis. Nimbla invoice insurance allows businesses to review the risk rating of each invoice and insure them individually. If a customer becomes insolvent and an invoice goes unpaid, Nimbla will quickly replace the money that has been lost.
Wiserfunding enables to better assess the credit profile of SMEs by analysing more comprehensive data. Building on the Z-Score model, the industry standard for over 50 years, Wiserfunding uses artificial intelligence to assess intangible factors such as corporate governance, management capacity and macroeconomic outlook.
By integrating Wiserfunding, Nimbla is able to more accurately assess and appropriately price the risk of insuring invoices. This supports its goal of safeguarding SMEs against insolvent customers, particularly relevant during economically challenging times such as the Covid-19 pandemic where SMEs will be reliant on cash flow to maintain liquidity.
Flemming Bengtsen, CEO and founder of Nimbla, commented: “SMEs can become vulnerable overnight if their customers become insolvent, and this risk is exacerbated by the challenging economic conditions that Covid-19 has created. We are integrating Wiserfunding into our platform to improve our risk management and enable quicker and more accurate insurance decisions, reducing the risk of defaults. Fundamentally, this will allow SMEs to trade with security and confidence.”
Gabriele Sabato, co-founder and CEO of Wiserfunding, added: “With 500,000 SMEs already in significant financial distress, we need to move quickly to protect the backbone of the British economy and ensure the right companies are protected from harm. Commercial credit insurance is the key to accelerating economic recovery, but trade credit is facing significant challenges and may disappear entirely during this difficult economic period – increasing the magnitude and length of the recession we are about to enter. Nimbla’s mission aligns with Wiserfunding’s in ensuring that credit and insurance are delivered to the right SMEs at the right price. By combining the best innovations from the fintech, insurance and risk management worlds, we will be better positioned to support UK SMEs and mitigate the impact of the recession.”
