Exclusive: Trade Finance Global aims to enhance its tech with BCR bid

The 8th bidder so far for BCR’s £100m pot of Pool E grants.

Trade Finance Global, the financing platform for the export and import industry, has submitted a bid as part of Banking Competition Remedies (BCR) £100m Pool E, AltFi can exclusively reveal. 

If successful Trade Finance Global intends to use the funding to enhance the technology behind its platform, according to director and co-founder Mark Abrams. 

“SME exporters are typically captive to large banking relationships, which cannot always offer the best financing mix. This leads to missed opportunities for growth” said Abrams, a member of the UK Government’s Strategic Trade Advisory Group. 

“SME exports accounted for around 32% of UK exports in 2018, totalling some £200bn of goods and services. The Department for International Trade estimates that 400,000 more UK SMEs could export, but don’t.” 

Trade Finance Global is the 8th bidder as part of the BCR’s Pool E, a £100m pot of grants assembled from the cash returned by Metro Bank and Nationwide after the duo failed to achieve their Pool A and Pool B pledges respectively. 

Other names in the running for the new grants include Starling Bank, Coconut, and Equifax. 

Trade Finance Global declined to reveal to AltFi which level of BCR grants, £2.5-5m or £10-35m, it is bidding for. 

Here are the 8 current public applications as they stand:  

Bidding for larger grants (£10-35m)

• Starling Bank looking to raise up to £35m with two new BCR grants  

Bidding for smaller grants (£2.5-5m)

• Fractal partners with Untied tax app for £5m BCR bid  

• Coconut files £5m BCR Pool E bid  

• Sonovate launches £5m Pool E proposal

Bidding, but unclear for which grant size 

• Funding Xchange outs itself as first BCR Pool E applicant  

• Ezbob  

• Trade Ledger and Equifax  

• Trade Finance Global 

Know of any other BCR Pool E bids? Let us know.