Interview: Roshan Shah, Co-Founder & CEO of VoloFin

An interview with Roshan Shah, Co-Founder & CEO of VoloFin, a Fintech startup, dedicated to supporting the growth of SMEs

Welcome to our exclusive interview with Mr. Roshan Shah, the Co-Founder and CEO of VoloFin, a pioneering fintech startup dedicated to revolutionizing the landscape of SME financing. With a vision to empower small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), VoloFin offers innovative end-to-end solutions in the realms of factoring and supply chain financing.

Mr. Shah brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the table, driving VoloFin towards its mission of providing accessible and efficient financial support to SMEs. Today, we have the privilege to delve into Mr. Shah’s insights, journey, and vision for VoloFin as it continues to reshape the SME financing ecosystem.

Can you share the story behind the founding of VoloFin? What inspired you to start this fintech startup, particularly focusing on supporting SMEs?

Roshan Shah: We started with a clear motivation to support the platform’s growth by providing the business with much-needed trade finance, which otherwise is a struggle for most of the organizations. Our idea of creating an end-to-end platform was to provide borrowers with quick and easy access to trade finance, and at the same time allow banks to participate and grow their business.

Our in-house proprietary tech platform is the core foundation of our platform, empowering us to play the role of both a lender and a platform, facilitating the banks to partner with us, and offering factoring as a ready solution.

We offer factoring solutions delivered through a next-gen platform that digitally manages customer onboarding, KYC, credit, compliance, documentation, buyer approvals, transaction handling, disbursement, monitoring, collection, and credit insurance wrap. The lending frameworks are customized based on the lender’s credit guidelines and focus.

We have already onboarded various lenders on our platform, including banks and funds, and are in the process of onboarding other banks, which will benefit significantly from partnering with us than doing it themselves. They will benefit in terms of cost, effort, efficiency, TAT, and having a solid credit framework provided by us.

We endeavor to revolutionize lending across industries, from SMEs to large corporates. We further intend to spread awareness about factoring through different initiatives. We are also aiming to facilitate easy access to capital with a seamless blend of expertise and technology. We envision emerging as the most reliable, trusted, and largest Fintech for borrowers and banks in the times to come.

How does VoloFin differentiate itself from other fintech platforms catering to SMEs?

Roshan Shah: We are the industry’s first comprehensive invoice and supply chain financing platform, providing end-to-end solutions, ranging from origination and collection to credit protection with insurance to platform lenders.

Additionally, we provide an array of services for our clients (suppliers) and lenders, whether it is protecting them against buyer non-payment risk, providing them with collateral-free financing, and best-in-class in-house proprietary tech platform that offers full-stack supply chain solutions to lenders and banks; or ensuring quick supplier KYC and compliance through extensive integration, ability to underwrite buyers globally, and providing framework-based lending models with banks.

We provide fast and easy access to funds, and non-recourse and collateral-free financing to our clients. We take the buyer’s default risk upon ourselves and provide funding to suppliers over and above their existing banking limits. These orders are relieved from the payment-related hassle and can grow their business, take more orders, and increase their production capacity.

What specific challenges do SMEs face in accessing financial services, and how does VoloFin address these challenges?

Roshan Shah: Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) often encounter challenges in accessing financial services, including limited credit history, complex application processes, and stringent collateral requirements. VoloFin addresses these hurdles by employing advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence to assess creditworthiness beyond traditional metrics.

Our streamlined digital platform simplifies application processes and enables quicker approvals. Additionally, VoloFin adopts a more inclusive approach, considering non-traditional data points to evaluate the financial health of SMEs.

By leveraging technology, VoloFin facilitates more accessible, and customized financial solutions, bridging the gap for SMEs and empowering them with the financial support needed for growth and sustainability.

Can you walk us through the key features and services offered by VoloFin to SME clients?

Roshan Shah: VoloFin provides a comprehensive suite of features and services tailored to meet the specific needs of SME clients:

Digital Onboarding: VoloFin offers a user-friendly digital onboarding process, minimizing paperwork and accelerating the application procedure.

Data-Driven Credit Assessment: Leveraging advanced data analytics, VoloFin assesses creditworthiness using a broad range of data points, going beyond traditional metrics to provide a more accurate evaluation.

Customized Financial Solutions: VoloFin tailors’ financial solutions to the unique requirements of each SME, ensuring flexibility for working capital solutions.

Responsive Customer Service: VoloFin prioritizes excellent customer service, offering responsive support to address queries and concerns promptly.

By combining technological innovation with a customer-centric approach, VoloFin aims to enhance the financial accessibility and growth prospects for SMEs.

In what ways does VoloFin leverage technology to streamline financial processes for SMEs?

Roshan Shah: VoloFin revolutionizes financial support for SMEs through a multifaceted technological approach. The platform uses advanced data analytics to conduct comprehensive creditworthiness assessments, considering diverse data points beyond traditional metrics.

The user-friendly digital onboarding process minimizes paperwork, expedites applications, and enables swift responses to SMEs’ invoice funding needs. VoloFin’s tailored financial solutions, crafted through the analysis of individual SME profiles, offer flexibility and meet specific business requirements.

Additionally, the algorithms continually refine credit risk models, adapting to market dynamics and providing SMEs with accurate risk assessments over time. This holistic integration of technology optimizes efficiency, accessibility, and security, positioning VoloFin as a cutting-edge platform for SMEs seeking streamlined financial solutions.

How does VoloFin ensure the security and confidentiality of the financial data shared by clients?

Roshan Shah: VoloFin employs a comprehensive and advanced security framework to ensure the utmost confidentiality and protection of client’s financial data. Leveraging the latest technology, the platform secures transactions through an immutable ledger, reducing the risk of tampering and unauthorized access.

Industry-standard encryption protocols are applied to data during both transmission and storage, safeguarding sensitive information against potential threats. Secure authentication processes, including multi-factor authentication, verify user identities, preventing unauthorized access to client accounts.

Regular security audits and assessments proactively identify and address vulnerabilities, keeping the platform resilient against emerging threats. VoloFin strictly adheres to regulatory standards, implementing measures to protect against data breaches and ensure compliance with data protection laws.

Employee training programs cultivate a strong security culture, minimizing the risk of internal breaches. Robust access controls restrict data access to authorized personnel, further fortifying the platform’s defenses and instilling confidence in clients that their financial information is handled with the highest level of security and confidentiality.

What are the future plans and growth strategies for VoloFin, particularly in expanding its support for SMEs?

Roshan Shah: We have a robust in-house origination team, which we are continuing to expand. We have a mapped future talent pool base that we have planned to onboard in the coming months. We are already offering additional solutions to clients with our trade expertise, whereby certain transactions are trade-supported if not financed directly, like CAD payment terms, etc.

We will be making a formal announcement of these solutions later in the year, while we continue to execute some transactions currently.

What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to start their own fintech venture?

Roshan Shah: Building a strong rapport with your stakeholders is crucial for your success. And to establish meaningful, long-lasting relationships, trust and transparency are the most important factors.

In conclusion, our conversation with Mr. Roshan Shah, the Co-Founder and CEO of VoloFin, has shed light on the transformative role that fintech startups can play in empowering SMEs. With a commitment to innovation and customer-centric solutions, VoloFin stands at the forefront of revolutionizing SME financing through its comprehensive offerings in factoring and supply chain financing.

Under Mr. Shah’s visionary leadership, VoloFin continues to pave the way for SMEs to thrive and grow, unlocking new opportunities for economic prosperity. We eagerly anticipate the continued success and impact of VoloFin as it navigates towards a future of inclusive and sustainable growth for SMEs around the globe.

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