Financiers require financial insight into companies and their plans before and during investment. What if both parties can have their wishes fulfilled? Topicus does exactly this with its Fyndoo platform, in collaboration with The Things Network, based on Internet of Things (IoT) technology. How does it work? Read the story of Samuel to find out. 




Good business

Samuel is a cocoa farmer in Kenya and with his business he earns just enough money to live on. His dream is to progress his business further. With the right resources and advice he can work more efficiently and by replacing his cocoa trees more often he can increase his yield considerably. He can also hire people, which means boosting the economy in his local village. Even though Samuel is great in his profession, he does not have an inventory of stock or any business administration. After all, it is not mandatory and he has never had any training in this. All logical, but it still makes it difficult for potential financiers to evaluate Samuel’s company as a reliable investment. The result? No investments, no growth.


New world

According to Topicus and The Things Network, this can and should be different. Financiers should have the opportunity to invest in promising entrepreneurs and likewise these promising entrepreneurs also deserve a fair chance to realize their ambitions. To make this possible, Topicus’ financing platform ‘Fyndoo’ is collaborating with the Internet of Things expert ‘The Things Network’. Together they provide entrepreneurs and financiers with automated insight into the supply chain. Sensors register quantities, locations and quality of the stock. On the basis of this data, the financing platform converts this into financing triggers. This means risks, developments and opportunities are transparent to the financiers, while the entrepreneurs can focus on their own work and have an overview of their growth. These initiatives are important features in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Inclusive Finance agendas.


How does it work?

The plan is simple: based on IoT sensors, the means of production and harvest is precisely recorded. The sensors record the crops, the harvest, how much is in stock, what the quality is, how much is sold and where the harvest is on route to the next link in the production chain. The gathered data is converted into triggers for financing processes. When Samuel sells a quantity of cocoa beans, the system calculates how much income is generated. At this moment, financial flows are automatically set in motion. Financiers get better insight into how well Samuels business is doing, when it pays off and how much. What about Samuel himself? He can continue doing what he does best.


Stimulate entrepreneurship

Advanced technology offers entrepreneurs without access to funding an opportunity to pursue their dreams, which will be a huge incentive for companies in emerging economies worldwide. Fyndoo can effectively and efficiently process the financing with the sensors costing no more than a couple of tenners and a good IoT network connection. The registrations mean real-time security, giving an insight into the most current data. Furthermore, this is much more cost-efficient than balance sheet financing, which requires a considerable amount of manual work. This new concept will ensure that every entrepreneur has the opportunity to make their dreams come true.


Impact 

Jamie Burink, initiator of the supply chain finance concept at Topicus, sees a chance to change the lives of millions of entrepreneurs through the collaboration. He explains, “At present 65 million entrepreneurs worldwide do not have access to finance. Many of these are active in a supply chain. Our technology offers them access to growth, success and achieving ambitions. This means we can offer a Fintech solution which creates a significant impact on the world”.

Johan Stokking, Tech Lead and co-founder of The Things Network, concurs, "It is a big solution with a huge impact. By making the Internet of Things accessible to developers, we can actually implement great ideas like this. Together with Topicus we strive to become an invaluable link in an important solution”.


SME Finance Forum 

Topicus and The Things Network presented their Fintech solution during the SME Finance Forum in Nairobi on 15 May 2018. Would you like to know more about the idea or the collaboration between Topicus and The Things Network? Then visit fyndoo.com.