Trade finance and technology veterans Ali Ansari and Cesar Ortega have announced the launch of Nifina, a platform that aims to use AI to help corporates optimise working capital and improve access to finance.
Once live, the platform will draw data from companies’ ERP systems, market sources and Nifina’s own models to assess where companies could make better use of their cash, and what financing tools would be best suited, the duo told GTR.
Those companies can then use AI agent-based processes to request tailored financing from their existing banking providers, rather than rely on out-of-the-box offerings.
“One problem is bank products are often square pegs that have to fit a round hole, but customers need different solutions for specific flows or markets,” said CEO Ansari, who co-founded the company after three years at Taulia and a 20-year banking career, including roles at HSBC, SMBC and JP Morgan.
“Also, what has happened in the past is that digital platforms were expensive to run, so could only be sold as single, scaled solutions. Now, with AI, you can have smaller solutions that are nimble, intelligent and efficient. We see this as the second generation of working capital platforms.”
Headquartered in the UK, Nifina has closed a pre-seed funding round, completed work on a proof-of-concept and is currently working with prospective clients to develop a beta version of its platform, with plans to go live towards the end of this year.
Once operational, Ansari said the platform should give customers access “to the full spectrum of solutions that are available in the market through their own funders, whether that’s basic receivables finance, dynamic discounting, buy-now-pay-later, supply chain finance or term loans, as well as variations in between”.
Rather than act as a marketplace, the objective “is for companies to understand their needs fully, reach out to their banking providers and request what they need, and facilitate that through agentic processes”, he said.
Chief revenue officer Ortega, who has held roles at lenders Santander and SMBC, as well as Amazon Web Services and several fintechs, said the launch represents a “mindset shift” among treasurers towards seeing working capital as a driver of supply chain resilience and growth.
“We believe the traditional treasury playbook is inefficient in today’s high-speed, high-volatility environment, resulting in trapped working capital and missed commercial opportunities,” he said.
“Our ultimate goal is to leverage intelligence and automation to drive efficiency in the overall cost of finance across value chains.”
Nifina has also named Farrukh Zareef as chief financial officer, Andrew English as chief operating officer and AI specialist Simi Wang as chief information officer. The team consists of seven full-time and four fractional employees, as well as an advisory board of sector specialists, Ortega said.
