Our latest panellist is Helene Panzarino. Originally a commercial banker, Helene now has a multifaceted affinity with UK SMEs. She is a highly experienced FinTech Programme Director, entrepreneur, educator and author. Helene is most recently, the creator of the Rainmaking Colab FinTech Programme for Series A+ FinTechs and the Associate Director of the LIBF Digital Baking Centre and lead on the Imperial College FinTech Executive Education Programme.
Read on to find out a bit more:
- Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you are up to right now?
I’m passionate about SME funding, financing, and growth, and delighted to see the new solutions that have come to market, some leveraging Open Banking, that are showing this vital client base some much-needed love. I’m an SME evangelist for the newly re-branded tomato pay, an adviser to the vulnerability detection regtech Kalgera, and doing some business development for the solution provider Vacuumlabs. - What does the year ahead have in store for you?
This year sees me helping smaller banks, community banks, et al, to help SME/Bs by improving the digital transformation at these banks. I will also be mounting a roadshow – virtual or in the real world – to share my new book, Reinventing Banking and Finance (Kogan) which came to market late due to Covid. Lastly, I will be creating my banking simulator platform – very excited – to help banks experiment and learn in the virtual world so they don’t lose out in the real world. - What have you been most impressed with within the SME lending world and its’ response to the pandemic?
I’d have to say well done to all the lenders who got the Covid stimulus packages out the door and into accounts in double-quick time. The addition of revenue-based repayment schemes, deferred payments, contextual finance, and more innovative digital payment solutions, such as tomato pay, coming to market, are all good signs.
- What do you think the year ahead holds for the alternative lender market as we exit the pandemic?
This is a game of two halves; on the one hand, they are getting money into SME accounts, into individual accounts, etc, but on the other hand, there have been fewer top-quality lenders to put on platforms, difficulties in providing a return, and soon to be a lack of top-quality businesses to lend to if history and current reports are to be believed. However, we do need them to keep lending, so perhaps we’ll see more institutional money landing on platforms, growth support for SMEs to make them good candidates, and maybe some consolidation. - What do you think the year ahead holds for the SME world as we exit the pandemic?
The SME is being touted as the segment that will help the world turn an economic corner, so let’s see. They will need a lot of support (as we delivered from 2010 to 2016) to make this a reality, but it is possible. The shift to taking businesses online will bear fruit. The extra red tape and cost of Brexit will bring challenges. We may see more people taking the SME plunge if they found a new role during the pandemic, but we need to keep an eye on those who will struggle. There will be casualties. I am very keen to see what predictive solutions come to market to help them with forecasted financials because forensic data will not be much good in the immediate future.
Stay tuned for the announcement of the winners of the SME Funding Awards 2021. To see the full list of nominees click here.
