Industry Financial technology CEO Alexander C. Kemper Founder Sandy Kemper Chief product officer Kevin Daniels Type of business Private | Website www.c2fo.com Headquarters Kansas City Founded 2008 Chief investment officer Erin Carney (CFA) | |
Products dynamic early payment program, working capital marketplace, supplier early payment portal, short-term cash optimization Profiles | ||
All across africa uses c2fo to expand global business
C2FO is a financial technology company and the creator of the first market for working capital. C2FO operates the C2FO working capital market.
Contents
- All across africa uses c2fo to expand global business
- Why buyers love c2fo
- Working capital marketplace
- In the media
- Recognition and awards
- Global footprint
- References
The company was founded in January 2008 by Sandy Kemper, former CEO of UMB Financial Corporation. C2FO was previously known as Pollenware. The name changed to C2FO based on customer feedback that the market delivered collaborative cash flow optimization or C2FO, an acronym for what the market provides.
The first C2FO market clearing took place in 2010, and received backing of venture firm Union Square Ventures, known for investing in companies like Twitter and Zynga. In Q2 2015, C2FO completed a $40MM round of equity funding led by Temasek, a global investment company based in Singapore. Temasek joined a list of C2FO investors including Union Square Ventures, Summerhill Venture Partners, OPENAIR Equity Partners, Mithril Capital, and Tiger Global. In Q1 2016, Citi Ventures became the newest investor.
C2FO posted its first $1 billion quarter in the fourth quarter of 2013. It experienced growth during 2014, handling $2.9 billion worth of transactions in the fourth quarter of 2014, with $1.4 billion of that happening in December. In September, 2015 C2FO announced it had reached the $1 billion-a-week milestone for the amount of working capital trading on its platform.
In the past six years, C2FO has generated more than $78.8 billion in working capital flows volume and over 282 million days of accelerated payment.
Why buyers love c2fo
Working capital marketplace
C2FO provides a marketplace for companies to deploy and secure working capital. Using the market, suppliers can request early payment from buyers on approved invoices. If early payment is awarded the funds are facilitated directly from the buyer to the supplier.
C2FO enables collaboration between buyers and suppliers in a real-time marketplace to discover the price for early payment that's profitable for both.
C2FO does not process payment or hold funds. The market is operated in an online environment with no fees or contracts for suppliers. C2FO currently operates in multiple currencies and is available in all countries. The market is a direct exchange between existing customers with no intermediaries or financial institutions, so it is free from regulation.
In the media
CNBC interviewed Chris Dark, President International of C2FO, on their Shake It Up program and asked him to explain how C2FO functions. Dark discussed how C2FO has customers such as Costco, Amazon and Pfizer.
In May, 2015, Karen Mills, Senior Fellow with Harvard Business School composed an article discussing the importance of small businesses in America and the three things they need to thrive, including access to working capital. In the article, Mills cited C2FO as an innovative new entrant in accounts receivable lending.
The Supplier Finance Survey, fielded by C2FO, polled leading UK corporate treasurers in Q4 2015, and shows that most treasury functions are looking into the value of accelerating payment to suppliers. The majority (71%) of corporate treasurers believe invoice discounting can act as a means for the Treasury to provide tangible value add, according to the research. Suppliers are getting paid late across the globe, but it’s a particular problem in the U.K., where late payments have led to high-profile political action and lawsuits. The research also found that 96 percent of treasurers agreed that the role of supplier financing services is on the rise.
In Q3 2016, C2FO conducted a follow up Working Capital Outlook survey to examine the preferences of more than 1,800 SMEs in the United States and in the UK, Germany, France and Italy (EMEA) for improving working capital efficiency. It gauged respondents’ sentiment on trends associated with economic and political factors, financing, working capital deployment and supplier-buyer relationships. The majority of SMEs (55%) found cash flow as the biggest obstacle for business growth and over 40% indicated an increase in working capital needs compared to last year. Meanwhile, more than a quarter (29%) of respondents had no or limited ability to borrow. This research also concluded SMEs are adopting a wide variety of sources to finance themselves including traditional banking options like credit lines and asset-back loans which have increased in popularity since 2015, especially for larger SMEs. Invoice financing solutions (ranging from supply chain financing, factoring and invoice discounting) are providing funding to almost 20% of the surveyed SMEs and 18% are using peer-to-peer lending.
City A.M. interviewed Colin Sharp, SVP EMEA for C2FO, and discussed C2FO's approach to invoice financing.
Recognition and awards
In early 2015, C2FO was named to Global Finance magazine's 'The Innovators 2015' list and received the 2015 Impact Award, from the American Cities Business Journals.
In December 2015, C2FO was recognized by Forbes as one of the most important financial tech companies on the magazine's 2015 Forbes Fintech 50 List. After considering more than 300 fintech companies, C2FO was recognized by for its ability to help solve the Liquidity Paradox, through its unique marketplace model. C2FO was also the only company listed from the dynamic discounting category.
H2 Ventures and KPMG also named C2FO to their 2015 Fintech 100 list of startups from around the world who are taking advantage of technology to revolutionize the industry by offering fresh, new, disruptive ideas.
In November 2016, C2FO was again named to the Forbes Fintech 50 list. Only around half of the firms listed made the list two years in a row.
The Supply Chain Finance Community has named C2FO among the six shortlisted vendors in its 'Open RFI' project, launched on behalf of a group of Dutch corporations.
Global footprint
C2FO is headquartered in Fairway, Kansas. The company has offices around the globe.