C2FO India - January 2021

C2FO

DIGITAL REPORT 2021

Changing the Liquidity Conversation

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The world’s largest platform for working capital www.c 2f o. com

C2FO

Saket Sarda and Iain Rolfe discuss C2FO’s revolutionary fintech platform, releasing working capital back into the market, and the company’s APAC expansion

D

uring times of financial hardship, the ability for companies to remain flexible, adaptable and agile is paramount. Having

ready access to the necessary liquidity in these situations is essential. Unfortunately, since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in March, 04

many firms have found the channels through which they access additional working capital closed off to them.

“COVID-19 was a huge shock to the market system. The initial reaction was to hunker down, stop investment, and minimise risk,” explains Saket Sarda, Head Enterprise Sales for APAC at C2FO. “At the same time, the banks issued a blanket credit freeze, large scale enterprises, all the way down to small-scale operators. Nobody could get access to any working capital.”

Even though that freeze has begun to thaw, its benefits have disproportionately served larger, more stable firms, leaving smaller and mid-sized companies out in the cold. Not only is this state of affairs potentially devastating for smaller firms cut off from sources of liquidity, Sarda continues, but

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www.c 2f o. com

C2FO

Saket Sarda @ C2FO CLICK TO WATCH

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1:03

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“ Your supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link” — Saket Sarda, Head of Enterprise Sales, APAC, C2FO

necessary liquidity to make the screws, machine parts, whatever it is you need, your entire production suffers and creates a ripple effect on the other suppliers in the supply chain,” he says.

“On our platform, we have close to a million of these compact suppliers. When their lifelines were taken away from them,

the impact has the potential to ripple

the only option for liquidity remaining

outwards through their supply chains.

for them was C2FO. We worked with the

“Your supply chain is only as strong

banks and the corporates to get liquidity

as its weakest link. If the small supplier

to the buyer, so that it can then make its

that makes up the farthest end of your

way to the supplier to, in turn, support the

supply chain can’t get access to the

operations of those large corporates.”

Based in the US, C2FO is one of the

“The most disruptive innovations are

larger fintech firms working to revolu-

typically the most simple,” says Iain

tionise the ways in which buyers and

Rolfe, managing director of C2FO’s

suppliers of every size in every indus-

operations in Australia and New

try can access the working capital

Zealand. “That’s what we’re doing –

necessary to survive challenging

challenging this really fundamental

times and thrive in the years to come.

notion of the power dynamic between

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Saket Sarda Title: Head of Enterprise Sales, APAC

Industry: Financial Services

Location: Singapore

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Saket has more than 25 yrs experience working in the Banking and IT industry with expertise in Business Development, Corporate Sales, Trade Product Management working in Africa, Middle East, Russia, ASEAN and Southeast Asia. Saket serves as Head Enterprise Sales, APAC for C2FO and brings a wealth of expertise to expand C2FO’s footprint in this region, where partnerships and product offerings must be augmented in innovative ways.

He would be driving C2FO current efforts in India, Taiwan, China and Australia, as well as focus on new opportunities in the Asia Pacific region that are vital to global trade and corporate supply chains. Prior to C2FO, Saket was Managing Director at Standard Chartered Bank managing the Trade business regionally working closely with corporates, regulators and third-party platform providers. Saket holds a B.Eng degree and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from IIM-A. Saket, his wife and two children reside in Singapore. www.c 2f o. com

C2FO

A HELPING HAND

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The COVID-19 crisis has been economically devastating for companies of all sizes and backgrounds, but particularly for minority-owned businesses.

Research done by the University of California, Santa Cruz, found that approximately 440,000 blackowned businesses in the United States (over 41%) were forced to close in response to COVID-19.

In contrast, only 17% of white-owned businesses experienced the same setbacks.

C2FO’s Equity and Inclusion Program is aiming to help change this state of affairs by providing diverse supplier certification, reduced rates and access to a broadening funding ecosystem.

“We’re trying to help those minority segments get easier access to capital through special offers. It’s good for everyone and it addresses the impediments and biases that exist for those minority groups through no fault of their own,” says Rolfe.

“That concept of economic justice and of equity inclusion is very strong in C2FO’s culture.”

buyer and supplier, and disintermediating third parties that have become part of those interactions over time.”

We sat down with Sarda and Rolfe to discuss C2FO’s ongoing expansion into APAC, following more than a decade of growth in the US and a successful expansion into Europe.

THE WORLD’S FIRST WORKING CAPITAL MARKETPLACE C2FO was founded in 2008, in direct

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response to the global financial crisis,

established in response to the need

a catastrophe which cost the US alone

to get liquidity flowing out of the bank-

an estimated $22trn. The response to

ing system, as well as from buyer

the crisis, Rolfe explains, was similar in

to supplier.

a lot of ways to the market’s response to COVID-19.

“Liquidity dried up and smaller sup-

Even when the world isn’t languishing in the grip of a pandemic or financial crisis, Rolfe explains that

pliers were unable to access working

there is a fundamental issue with the

capital through normal banking relation-

way that suppliers are often forced

ships, as well as through the invoices that

to acquire their working capital.

were outstanding from their customers,” he says. C2FO, Rolfe continues, was

“Lack of liquidity is a situation that our customers and suppliers face www.c 2f o. com

C2FO

“ The most disruptive innovations are typically the most simple” — Iain Rolfe, MD, ANZ, C2FO

“Going to a bank is going to be a much more painful and lengthy process to free-up liquid capital that they may need urgently,” he says, adding that the cheapest form of financing is money that the company is already owed.

This is the core solution that C2FO is built on. Companies can use the C2FO working capital market platform to access funds that are owed and

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every day. At a fundamental level,

invoiced ahead of their due date, in

whether you’re a large or small organi-

exchange for a fee, and at a price that

sation, a supplier, a buyer or both, you

they themselves determine. “It’s an

need to have access to working capi-

equalised system of suppliers and cus-

tal,” he explains.

tomers which cultivates collaboration,”

What this means is that firms are

says Sarda. “We bring price discovery,

constantly trying to thread the needle

profitability, and cash flow into our

between income and outgoings, whilst

customers’ supply chains.”

also having enough liquidity to support

C2FO onboards approximately

expansions, mergers, new ventures,

50mn invoices to its platform every

or to respond to something unexpected

day. “It’s a mammoth technological

– like a pandemic, for example.

challenge,” Rolfe notes.

“When a crisis emerges, you

In order to support this kind of vol-

either go out of business or find

ume, he explains that the company

more working capital to get through

has built a “SaaS platform that runs

that period of time,” Rolfe explains.

on the underlying compute, security

Historically, the typical response

and storage capabilities of a big cloud

has been to get a loan from a third-

services organisation. We then run

party financial institution.

a very sophisticated set of algorithms

JANUARY 2021

on top of that stack that allow us to

keeping a continuous interface

ingest and process that volume of

between the platform and its cli-

invoices every day at scale.”

ents. Instead, they use point-in-time

For the sake of both security and simplicity, C2FO’s platform avoids

onboarding each day. “We can pull the necessary invoices from our

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

Iain Rolfe Title: Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand Industry: Financial Services

Location: Greater Sydney Area

Iain leads C2FO in Australia and New Zealand, working with multinationals and local corporations in need of more flexible solutions that provide better control and management of their financial performance.

Previously, Iain held multiple roles during his tenure at Cisco, including Chief Commercial Manager for Australia and New Zealand and Chief Operations Officer for their Technical Services division.

While there, he established the overall commercial management function for Asia Pacific and led the structuring of their first three direct deals in China and India. Previous to Cisco, Iain worked for Orange Business Services, France Telecom, and founded his own Internet company.

Recognized as a global expert in complex adaptive business models, Iain was awarded a Ph.D. from Macquarie University and holds a Master of Commerce and Bachelor of Business in behavioral economics. He is based in Sydney, Australia.

www.c 2f o. com

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C2FO

C 2FO AU ST RALI A

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Rolfe has been leading C2FO’s expansion into the ANZ market since May 2019. Almost more than anywhere, he says, the ANZ market needs new ways for companies to access working capital.

“Australia has gone through a period of many challenges. There’s been the financial crisis, there was a government intervention setting out the terms of engagement between big and small suppliers, and then we hit bushfires followed by COVID-19.

People here are just punch drunk,” he reflects.

In order to recover, Rolfe continues, the ANZ market needs to find new ways to collaborate using technology.

C2FO’s role will be to work as a

national working capital control centre through its platform that provides companies with multiple different avenues to generate value.

“We’re going to help companies look at an invoice and think about the best way for the capital locked in that invoice to benefit the entire supply chain,” Rolfe continues. “Australia has a very special market with its own financial culture and system.

What we’re doing here is taking the best of what C2FO does around the world and customising it for Australian customers. We want to be able to look back in a couple of years and be proud of our role in this collaborative recovery for the ANZ market.”

“ When a crisis emerges, you either go out of business or find more working capital to get through that period of time” — Iain Rolfe, MD, ANZ, C2FO

The platform, Sarda explains, straddles the customer’s procurement and sales functions. “It means that you have a uniquely better view of your cash flow,” he says.

ENTERING APAC C2FO’s presence in the APAC market is relatively new, launching its operations in China and Australia two years ago, expanding its presence in India

customers’ ERPs into our system, do

and adding Taiwan to its portfolio in

what we need to do, and then push the

2019. Sarda’s role in the company’s

equivalent instructions back into their

expansion has several elements, each

systems,” Rolfe adds.

aimed at increasing C2FO’s APAC

Iain Rolfe @ C2FO CLICK TO WATCH

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1:06

www.c 2f o. com

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C2FO

2008

Year founded

463

Number of employees

180

Countries 14

“ If C2FO wishes to achieve the same market penetration it has in Europe and the US, it needs to find ways to appeal to the huge numbers of mid-market, midsized firms in APAC” — Saket Sarda, Head — of Enterprise Sales, APAC, C2FO Saket Sarda, Head of Enterprise Sales, APAC, C2FO

foothold, and developing the uniquely APAC-centric value proposition it can present to its new customer base.

“The first part of my role is business development, which is different from direct sales,” Sarda explains. Whether they’re with large corporates, banks or governments, the partnerships that Sarda is building are intended to fuel the local economic engine with C2FO, making the platform a more

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relevant proposition to companies in a

innovation that supports those goals.

given market. Second, the direct sale

In contrast to the US and Europe –

of services to new clients, both in the

which are fairly homogeneous markets

four countries where C2FO is operat-

– APAC is a very different beast with

ing, and beyond, initially in markets

an eclectic collection of varied rules,

like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia,

taxes and practices.

Singapore and later expanding into

“In the West, the very nature of

the Philippines, South Korea, Japan.

the Fortune 500 belies how many

Lastly, he is working to ensure the

large-scale corporations there are

broader relevance of C2FO’s offerings

in that market. APAC has a smaller

to the APAC market, and driving the

percentage of large corporations www.c 2f o. com

C2FO

by comparison. In APAC, and more

a mid-sized company that might not

importantly in ASEAN, a few high-level

have too much data of its own, we’re

corporations control large segments

able to provide a far more nuanced

of the economy - equivalent to that

view of their own supply chain that

which 500 companies control in the

they might not have had so far.”

US,” Sarda explains. Therefore, if C2FO wishes to achieve the same

COVID-19 AND BEYOND

market penetration it has in Europe

The past year has been a challeng-

and the US, it needs to find ways to

ing one for companies worldwide.

appeal to the huge numbers of mid-

As liquidity has dried up, and larger

market, mid-sized firms.

corporations and banks adopt more

“We’re looking at a comprehensive 16

conservative stances, C2FO has

offering which straddles payables

become a driving force in preserving

and receivables, creating an invoice

resilience and agility in the markets

central for a corporate, and also by

it serves.

connecting to their ecosystem of sup-

“Since COVID-19 hit, many large

pliers and customers to be more like

organisations drew down large

an invoicing intermediary between

amounts of capital through their

firms,” he says, adding that another advantage that C2FO hopes to leverage in APAC is its data.

“Our existing presence in a lot of APAC countries, across numerous industries means we have a lot of data on trade,” Sarda explains. The 50mn invoices that are added to C2FO’s platform every day help generate deep insights into the wider market.

“We can use all this data to give value back to our clients,” says Sarda. “For

“ We want to be able to look back in a couple of years and be proud of our role in this collaborative recovery for the ANZ market” — Iain Rolfe, MD, ANZ, C2FO

T H E C H I E F F I N AN CE AN D I N SI GHT S O FFI CER

The nature of executive roles is forever changing, as digital transformation reshapes the capabilities and demands placed on companies’ leaders. Sarda reflects that the traditional role of a Chief Finance Officer (CFO) may look very different in just a few years.

“Historically, a CFO uses past data to explain why things have happened and provide analysis. Going forward, I think that the CFO role will become far more about providing insights for future decision making,” he says, adding that the role will become about developing insights into how

one course of action will interact with other elements of the business, and ultimately figuring out how to make the company more nimble.

“If the world keeps undergoing the kinds of crisis that we’ve been seeing, the companies that end up being successful are going to be the ones that manage to have more variable practices,” he adds. “Passive knowledge of things like accounting is going to evolve towards strategy, ecosystems and therefore outsourcing and the need for platforms like C2FO that can help provide good data in those areas.” www.c 2f o. com

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C2FO

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credit lines, got lots of money in the

like the Equity and Inclusion Program,

door, and began tightening up on their

C2FO is working to help the world sur-

expenses. It’s the same reaction that

vive and even thrive in these challenging

they had to the financial crisis in 2008,”

times. Rolfe reflects that the past year

says Rolfe. “What’s different this time

has been one of, at times, frantic activity

around is that our customers have had

for himself and his team.

the ability to treat the crisis in a more nuanced, technology-driven way.”

“In many ways, we’re a counter-cyclical business. When the chips are down for

Through its market-based approach

the economy as a whole, that’s when

to freeing up liquidity, as well as initiatives

more people come to use our platform

dilemma whether we should continue to try and expand into new markets, given that we can’t travel, recruit and train new people,” explains Sarda. “This year, we decided to double-down on the investments we’ve made in the countries where we’re already active.”

Going forward, Sarda intends to continue focusing on the three main areas of his remit: developing relationships with key partners, expanding into new markets like Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, and continuing to develop new products and services that are uniquely tailored to help APAC companies get the most out of every part of their balance sheet.

Looking to the future, Sarda is optimistic about the potential for progress, even in uncertain times such as these. and our services, so we’ve had our hands

“I think that what C2FO did in the US and

full this year,” he says. “We’ve had a huge

Europe in a matter of five to six years

uptick, not just in our customer base, but

will be accomplished much more quickly

also in our range of products on the mar-

in APAC.”

ket. We’re iterating and releasing new products almost bi-weekly because of how fast the landscape is moving.”

In ANZ, as well as the rest of APAC, C2FO has pivoted its operations in response to the crisis. “There was a www.c 2f o. com

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2ND FLOOR NAMAN CENTRE G BLOCK BANDRA-KURLA COMPLEX BANDRA (EAST) MUMBAI INDIA 400051 www.c2fo.com

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