Prospa and The Entourage combine to inspire small business owners
Prospa, Australia’s largest online lender to small business, has launched an innovative partnership with educator The Entourage that enables business owners and budding entrepreneurs to fund education through their business cashflow. The partnership will enable business owners to access The Entourage’s Launch, Build and Scale education programs and advice from leading entrepreneurs using an interest free loan from Prospa, instead of a large upfront payment, credit card or expensive personal loan. Beau Bertoli Joint CEO of Prospa said “It’s amazing that two of Australia’s entrepreneurial success stories are partnering to offer Australian small business owners and fledgling entrepreneurs access to finance and education. “Prospa and The Entourage have the same […]
Move over term deposits, peer-to-peer lending is on the rise for Aussie investors
Individual Aussie investors have lent an average of $13,508 in the last nine months as they chase better returns in a low-yield environment, according to leading peer-to-peer lender RateSetter. This figure is a 25.4% increase from the $10,770 lent in the previous nine months. With the RBA keeping interest rates at rock bottom levels, and savings returns suffering as a result, Daniel Foggo, RateSetter CEO, said that investors were turning to peer-to-peer platforms as they shifted away from “volatile equities and low-return savings accounts and term deposits.” “We hear from investors that they are attracted by the compelling returns and lower relative risk, in particular the protection of their money […]
Valiant announces partnership with Octomedia to launch Inside Small Business LoanConnect
Leading fintech business loan marketplace, Valiant and Inside Small Business publisher Octomedia, announced the official launch of an exclusive partnership to bring business loan solutions to Australia’s small business community. The partnership is a major Australian publishing first which delivers an exclusive business loan search and application portal as a co-branded offer: Inside Small Business LoanConnect. By dynamically accessing Valiant’s panel of 35+ leading lenders, Inside Small Business LoanConnect compares small business owner’s loan requests to the lender’s credit criteria. Matching works instantaneously through Valiant’s proprietary marketplace technology – saving business owner’s time and stress. Valiant Co-founders, Alex Molloy and Richard Cotton expressed excitement for the new […]
AFG ties up with US fintech to roll out SME lending platform
Small-business lending, not wealth management, will be the mortgage broking industry’s next growth engine, according to Australian Finance Group, which is busy trying to sign up lenders to its new technology platform powered by US fintech company Biz2Credit. In August, AFG quietly formed an alliance with Biz2Credit to use the company’s patented analytics and financial services technology to give its army of 2650 brokers the ability to better offer small business loans alongside traditional mortgages. AFG plans to roll out the platform early next year with a “panel” of 15 lenders that customers can choose from, including the major banks and new fintech lenders. This contrasts with the strategy of […]
SocietyOne shuffles senior ranks as volumes accelerate
Peer-to-peer lender SocietyOne is looking for a new chief marketing officer following the departure of star recruit Mitch Harad while co-founder Matt Symons has been shifted to non-executive director, as the high-profile fintech upgrades its lending forecasts and attracts more institutional capital on to its internet platform. Mr Harad was hired with fanfare mid-last year after guiding Lending Club, also a P2P lender, to a public listing in the US. It is understood his departure is amicable and he will stay in Australia to establish his own start-up. Mr Harad was lured to SocietyOne by co-founder Matt Symons, who will relinquish his executive duties and move to the boardroom as a non-executive director. His management role will be taken up by former […]
Former MFAA CEO joins HashChing
A finance and logistics executive and former MFAA chief executive officer has joined the advisory board of mortgage marketplace and home loan deal gateway HashChing. Siobhan Hayden, who resigned as chief executive of the MFAA in June this year, has joined the advisory board of online home loans trader HashChing. It’s the third top executive the emerging fintech has secured in recent weeks. Financial services regulatory lawyer Claire Wivell Plater and financial service senior executive Helen Lorigan also joined the fintech’s advisory board recently. Ms Hayden commented that HashChing has the potential to significantly change the home loan market in Australia. “HashChing sits at the intersection of customers, brokers and lenders — […]
New FinTech Uno Home Loans lands a $16.5 million investment from Westpac
New Australian FinTech company ‘Uno’ has landed a $16.5 million investment from Westpac after its success in the digital mortgage service in the past few months. The major bank investment is set to expand the company even further as customers are discovering the benefits of having a greater power in the home loan search process. Chief Strategy Officer at Westpac, Gary Thursby, said “uno’s success has been impressive and we’re seeing its potential to become a serious player in the home loan market”. Westpac has been involved with uno since the concept phase and Mr Thursby is pleased to announce the investment where Westpac will be a strategic investor at […]
Hashching cracking fintech’s glass ceiling
Like the global technology industry more broadly, Australia’s fintech scene is a very male-dominated world. While MoneyBrilliant co-founder Jemma Enright and Timelio founder Charlotte Petris are obvious exceptions, Australia’s fintech entrepreneurs are mostly men. So are the vast majority of their venture capitalist backers and teams of software engineers. It’s a similar pattern around the globe. But Siobhan Hayden says it doesn’t need to be this way. The former chief executive of the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia has a message for girls seeking to start fintechs to disrupt the financial services industry. “Back yourself – people need to back themselves,” said Hayden, who last week joined the advisory […]
