Fintech Insider Podcast by 11:FS
00:21:46 · Sarah Kocianski, Christoph Rieche
[00:21:46] S0: Have you seen anything this morning, or have you not had a chance to to get in and see any panels? [00:21:50] S4: I've seen a lot of people coming here, a lot of accountants that all have their own story. It's great sort of to have someone like ZERO to really bring everyone together and share kind of the the latest and and greatest in the in the market to help small businesses with their day to day work. [00:22:08] S0: So whilst we're on, you know, the latest and greatest in helping small businesses, what is iWalker? What do you do? And how do you help small businesses? [00:22:16] S4: So I set the company up some seven years ago, and I really wanted to make a difference by providing much, much needed capital to the hundreds of thousands of small businesses that are really not served that well by the banks. And we've come a long way. We have funded more than 20,000 so far and are still growing at more than a 100% per year and are really starting to fill that void that the banks have left. [00:22:42] S0: So do you just operate in The UK or do you operate across Europe? [00:22:45] S4: Our main market is the is The UK. That's where where I started the company and where we we have sort of advanced most. But we're also operating in in Germany and and are growing there equally fast.
00:22:45 · Christoph Rieche, Sarah Kocianski
[00:22:45] S4: Our main market is the is The UK. That's where where I started the company and where we we have sort of advanced most. But we're also operating in in Germany and and are growing there equally fast. [00:22:58] S0: And so we're here at Zerocon, and you obviously have a partner of Xero. How important do you think it is that somebody like Xero builds an ecosystem for small businesses? So is it, you know, both both the small businesses to have one point of contact to go to, and for you as a company, how important is it to have kind of that that big partner behind you? [00:23:17] S4: I think it's incredibly important because small businesses, they need so many services that they don't even know that they might be useful for them. So being part of an ecosystem and having access to these services in a in a direct way curated by by a great company is incredibly helpful. We have seen this working really, really well for the likes of eBay and Amazon that also created a massive ecosystem around them to help small businesses sell through these platforms. And I think Xero is a much larger extension of this because, obviously, it touches the entire small business space, not just a vertical in in ecommerce. And I believe that that's absolutely vital and will help all of the small businesses to increase their productivity, give them time back, give them more insights to make to make more often better better decisions. And through the likes of us, get immediate access to capital to help them size the opportunities that, you know, always come along in a small business.
00:23:17 · Christoph Rieche, Sarah Kocianski
[00:23:17] S4: I think it's incredibly important because small businesses, they need so many services that they don't even know that they might be useful for them. So being part of an ecosystem and having access to these services in a in a direct way curated by by a great company is incredibly helpful. We have seen this working really, really well for the likes of eBay and Amazon that also created a massive ecosystem around them to help small businesses sell through these platforms. And I think Xero is a much larger extension of this because, obviously, it touches the entire small business space, not just a vertical in in ecommerce. And I believe that that's absolutely vital and will help all of the small businesses to increase their productivity, give them time back, give them more insights to make to make more often better better decisions. And through the likes of us, get immediate access to capital to help them size the opportunities that, you know, always come along in a small business. [00:24:18] S0: So do you think that access to capital is still a pain point for small businesses? Yes. Absolutely. Long time, but it's still
00:24:18 · Sarah Kocianski, Christoph Rieche
[00:24:18] S0: So do you think that access to capital is still a pain point for small businesses? Yes. Absolutely. Long time, but it's still [00:24:24] S4: Absolutely. It's... I started a company seven years ago, and ever since, the the amount that is lent to small businesses has contracted despite, you know, consumers and and corporates borrowing record amount of money. The actual amount outstanding to small businesses is lower today than it was seven years ago. And that sort of just shows you, no. You know, we have not actually gotten there that small businesses have the access to capital that they need. And, you know, I'm proud that we have made a difference to the 20,000, But, you know, there there are hundreds of thousands that we haven't reached yet and that I think can do very well by by investing in their business and and and sizing the opportunities that they have. [00:25:08] S0: So there's there's still a great opportunity for for companies like yourself out there. What what else what is missing, do you think? So particularly with, you know, open banking coming into play, there's obviously opportunities for other services developed. Is there anything else that you think, either based on open banking or or not, that that would really help boost this whole business ecosystem?
00:25:08 · Sarah Kocianski, Christoph Rieche, Caroline Plumb
[00:25:08] S0: So there's there's still a great opportunity for for companies like yourself out there. What what else what is missing, do you think? So particularly with, you know, open banking coming into play, there's obviously opportunities for other services developed. Is there anything else that you think, either based on open banking or or not, that that would really help boost this whole business ecosystem? [00:25:29] S4: So I think we're we're we're really kind of at a very, very, very interesting point in time because the insights that that someone like Xero can provide by using the data that customers have on their platform in a in a way that hasn't been done before and giving sort of access to capital through companies like us is here not... Has not been the case in the past. So over the next five to ten years, you will see all of these services flourish and become normal for a small business to use rather than sort of pioneering. And and I think that will unleash a huge boost in productivity that, you know, particularly looking at The UK, is structurally a a problem. Productivity growth has been low, and these are the type of initiatives that can really take a lot of time away from admin tasks of small businesses and redeploy that time in value adding and and growth initiatives that that they'd much rather spend their time on [00:26:30] S2: Yeah. [00:26:30] S4: Than keying in invoices. [00:26:31] S0: Yeah. I mean...
00:26:31 · Sarah Kocianski, Christoph Rieche
[00:26:31] S0: Yeah. I mean... [00:26:32] S4: So I think I think, you know, it's really starting now that the services are big enough, developed enough to make a difference. And so I think the next five years will be really, really, really interesting. [00:26:42] S0: And you think that they will be driven by somebody like Xero rather than than by the banks? [00:26:46] S4: I definitely think that Xero is way ahead of the curve relative to the banks that have all sorts of other issues that they have to take care of, which are very unrelated to the fortunes of small businesses. And so having someone like Xero with the entire ecosystems that we are part of, really putting the small business first in everything that we do is very, very, very hard for the banks to match. They'll get better too because, you know, competition is a good thing. But but I think the innovation will come out of the likes of, you know, Xero and its its large partner partner base. [00:27:22] S0: So what's next for OAKA? Do have anything on the horizon?