The Pillars of CANOPI- Prabal Krishna, Abhay Asrani and Mahesh Sagde

Nolan Bushnell a successful Entrepreneur once quoted, “The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but few decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer.” 

 Canopi is these critical ingredients that can help you serve your dish. Canopi being is an online platform for short-term, collateral-free loans, comes as a saviour for MSMEs i.e. Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises which remain grounded because of lack of finance. The company extends a helping hand to small companies through secure loans based on their invoices. But today we have written about the pillars of Canopi, Its 3 founders who took it to a higher level of success.

THE BEGINNING 

Hoping to become the next China, India has emerged as the last great frontier for foreign investors. India has the right concoction of ample resources, over 400 million internet users, and a vibrant entrepreneurship climate backed by a youthful tribe with great potential.

A total of 64 startups, including MSMEs in India, have secured approximately 242 million dollars in venture capital funding, according to a research company.[efn_note] https://www.indiafilings.com/learn/challenges-faced-startups-india/ [/efn_note] Like the population, India’s micro, small and medium business market is second only to China.

The country’s overall number of MSMEs was more than 63 million in the financial year 2019. Most were micro-enterprises, with a higher proportion of them in rural areas than in urban areas of the country. These were managed by the owners with little to no funding and sales earnings as a priority, more frequently than not. In terms of their contribution to the market and job creation in the region, MSMEs are vital to the economy.

During the financial year 2015, the production size of MSMEs was close to 30 trillion Indian rupees. Company production has accounted for a contribution of almost 31 percent to GDP in the same financial year.[efn_note] https://www.statista.com/statistics/718232/india-number-of-msmes-by-type/ [/efn_note]

Industry analysts, however, contend that this figure is negligible and there is a good reason to dramatically increase it to maintain early-stage risk resources. Debt as a means of financing is therefore not a feasible choice because of the mechanisms involved and the high-interest rates. Personal finance is a challenge since financial security involves immediate sources of income that may not be available in the early stages of beginning a company.

It was about time that Prabal Krishna (Co-Founder), Mahesh Sagde (Co-Founder), and Abhay Asrani (Co-Founder) realized this financial glitch and decided to make a difference. This led to the foundation of Canopi.

THE MISSION

India is an MSME centre. India had about fifty thousand startups in 2018 and about 8.9k-9.3k of these are technology-led startups, 1.3k new tech startups were born alone in 2019. So we can say that 2-3 tech startups are born every day based on the statistics. However, since these businesses could not sustain because of the financial glitch, Canopi made it our mission to support such minor, small, and medium enterprises by offering secured small loans or collateral loans based on the invoices.

WHY CANOPI?

Various aspects laid the foundation of Canopi. The founders Prabal Krishna, Mahesh Sagde, and Abhay Asrani had a blueprint of a strategy to make CANOPI the best option for anyone who wished to do business. This marketplace was established to keep helping such aspiring entrepreneurs in the long run. It was designed to be a supply chain marketplace and trade finance marketplace for buyers, sellers, and exporters. How? This is through some exclusive programs that emphasized these aspects:-

For Buyers:- Canopi first studied the approach of the buyers and the various challenges they faced. They found that the challenges faced by the consumers/buyers were different after a lot of research. Vendors calling for early payments, distributors wanting to add credit to them, etc were some of those. Accordingly, Canopi found a solution for this. Canopi created a platform where the buyers would get a chance to get exposed to many banks & NBFCs ready to finance the sales of the suppliers’ receivables and distributors. This is done through various Corporate led financing programs with the respective outcome.

1. Vendor Finance- On a common portal, the Vendor Finance platform links your suppliers and institutional lenders. Your manufacturers are paid early, helping them to maximize their operating resources. You will widen the terms of payment and discuss competitive deals with them.
2. Channel Finance- The Channel Financing platform puts the distributors and dealers together to connect them with lenders. For their orders, the channel partners will use unsecured financial restrictions on the portal. Help them make use of financing and increase sales.
3. Multiple Lenders- Just a portion of the market network is provided by most bank-led financing initiatives. There are several licensed lenders in the Canopi marketplace ready to finance your vendors or dealers.
4. Seamless Process- The ERP integration module guarantees that the departments of your AR and AP continue to operate the same as they did before. Go live with ERP integration and get your network onboard quickly.

   So, for all this, all one has to do is join CANOPI.

• For sellers:-The sellers had a different share of issues to deal with. Canopi had a different approach to help the sellers. Canopi helped in the translation of invoices into cash for a wholesale dealer who sells to big supermarket stores or a supplier to an existing customer. All one had to do is send those invoices to Canopi to get funding immediately. Canopi created a platform keeping small businesses in mind.

1. Collateral Free – Canopi recognized that it can be a big burden on the company to have collateral to increase working capital. That is why the underwriting decisions of Canopi are not based on leverage, but the accounting transactions and the company’s cash flow.
2. Business loans delivered fast – The founders were well aware of the time and efforts required to get a loan. They addressed this issue by reducing long processing times and endless documentation provision rounds. The online workflow of Canopi is planned with your time limits in mind. Once you meet the requirements, in 3 business days, the loans will show up in your account.
3. Transparent fee – You will know in advance what the interest rate and other costs are when you apply the invoice to Canopi. There are no secret penalties, no early payment penalties and there is full clarity of interest rates. So, without fears about secret charges cutting into the margins, work with us.
4. Online Process:- The mechanism in Canopi is online and a branch office will never have to be visited. Give the invoices, record the sales, without leaving the premises.

• For exporters:-The exporters had to deal with the payment. The founders closely observed the problems. Soon they discovered the solution. If you are an exporter of MSMEs with orders from foreign customers, Canopi will pay you for delivery, even if the customer pays later. Provide the purchaser with your order copy and trade records and get paid up to 90% of the shipment’s invoice amount. Canopi gives the privilege of post-shipment finance without resources through the following facilities.

1. Simplified Credit Terms – Canopi provides a credit facility for exporters of MSMEs without Recourse with lender partners who take the full risk from the overseas buyer of non-payment. The prices are related to Libor and depend on your overseas buyer’s results. The prices are tied to Libor and depend on your overseas buyer’s results.
2. Avoid Hedging Costs – After viewing shipping papers Canopi can give up to 90 percent of the shipping value charged. This eliminates the probability of currency volatility and hedging prices, which can be up to 5-7% of the value of the shipment.
3. Insurance Benefits – ECGC offers exporters a variety of protection coverage against the possibility of non-payment from customers. At Canopi, the loan agent pays out the policy on the deal, you can save on the ECGC premium costs.
4. Single Window System – Canopi maintains all records, receipts, and statements on a centralized forum for your overseas trade all round the clock.

TRAINING AT CANOPI

For the first time, a marketplace also went ahead to train the entrepreneurs through training programs. Canopi tailors funding programs to meet the company’s needs. These included the following products:-

• Corporate led financing program
• Direct Seller Finance
• Trade Finance for MSME Exporters

CANOPI, THE SUCCESS MANTRA OF THE MODERN ERA!

We at Canopi have made it our mission to be the reason for the success of the small enterprises that will be big fat businesses. We are willing to help all such aspiring entrepreneurs.

We look forward to being a part of the journey and being an integral part of many success stories !!

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Shivpriya Sumbha

Shivpriya R. Sumbha has been a certified digital marketer for the last 4 years with a proven experience in branding, content, and overall digital presence for the brands. She is a pro when it comes to knows taking care of the branding needs of a brand. Academically, she’s also a chemical engineering graduate, evolved into a writer. Poetry and enthralling cups of teas are what keeps her alive and happy and you’d often see her engrossed in a world of words.

” I’d rather be called a writer someday than an engineer’ – Shivpriya says.