Liquify
Organization Details
Liquigy is an invoice marketplace connect SME exporters from emerging markets to working capital financing.
Impact Story
Trade finance is an important instrument for influencing Africa's long-term economic development and structural transformation. Africa's trade growth has been one of the weakest globally, affected by factors like cyclical fall in commodity prices, global competition, regulatory challenges and limited liquidity available, including reduced access to trade finance. Participation rates in trade finance have declined by 16% from 2013 to 2019, resulting in an estimated trade finance gap of US$120 billion in Africa in 2021.
SMEs in Africa exporting to international corporate buyers are unable to access trade financing and resort to 3x more expensive unsecured lending. High interest rates stifle their profit margins and lead to SMEs declining as much as 40% of new business opportunities.
Liquify seeks to bridge the trade finance gap by providng a marketplace that enables these SMEs to sell their unpaid invoices for quick access to affordable working capital, whilst providing global financiers access to an untapped asset class.
Liquify focuses on the agriculture sector as it is more central to poverty reduction in Africa. The continent is home to 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, but low crop productivity and a lack of adequate investment leaves this opportunity untapped. More than half of sub-Saharan Africa’s workforce is employed in agriculture, and 90% of businesses in the agri-food sector are small and medium enterprises (SMEs), situating them firmly as the backbone of African food systems. Supporting and investing in these businesses is what will build and strengthen our food systems for the foreseeable future.
The World Bank estimates that boosting agriculture’s output is two to four times more effective in raising incomes among the poorest compared to other sectors. It is one of the most powerful tools to end extreme poverty, boost shared prosperity, and feed a projected 10 billion people by 2050.
Diverse Social Enterprise
The TRANSFORM Support Hub is committed to accelerating diverse owned and led enterprises to build more equitable and resilient supply chains.
