OCBC Bank has officially launched a new business dedicated to supporting serial entrepreneurs as they establish and grow new businesses. The bank claims that this is the first offering of its kind for small businesses in Singapore.
According to OCBC Bank, the potential base of the serial entrepreneur segment is sizeable, with 1 in 3 new businesses incorporated in Singapore from 2015 to 2017 belonging to an entrepreneur running at least one business.
The official launch of the Serial Entrepreneur business follows the bank’s 12-month pilot programme which started in October 2017. During the pilot, over S$100 million in business loans had been approved.
The inception of the Serial Entrepreneur business came after an extensive mapping exercise of customer journeys comprising more than 500 conversations, where the team listened to and understood the motivations and challenges of serial entrepreneurs.
Obtaining a loan even before their new start-up has been incorporated is now possible for serial entrepreneurs. This is a result of the bank’s new credit approach that takes a comprehensive view of the entrepreneur’s experience, business track record and overall business strategy across his or her group of companies.
This focus on the serial entrepreneur greatly improves upon the prevailing industry model which evaluates each business on a standalone basis based on their track record and financial credibility which makes it difficult for start-ups less than two years old to obtain financing – even if the founder has operating businesses and a proven track record.
The serial entrepreneur business brings together specialists in cash management, mezzanine capital and wealth management, with a relationship manager to form an integrated support network for serial entrepreneurs.
Cash management specialists were integral in guiding a select group of serial entrepreneurs to become one of the first in Singapore to start using the funds transfer service, PayNow, for their businesses. Exclusive economic and equity outlook events with the bank’s wealth management specialists were also organised for the serial entrepreneurs.
Said Ms. Christie Chu, Head of Emerging Business, Global Commercial Banking, OCBC Bank
“We have supported entrepreneurs for more than 80 years, and know the importance of constantly listening to our customers to understand their ambitions, along with their needs and challenges. As a result, we realised that we should focus on the serial entrepreneur and recognise his or her journey of successes and failures, rather than assessing a business solely on its financial track record.
Featured image credit: Wikipedia
