From ElNavi November Shipping Review…
Taking advantage of the latest sophisticated technology tools eShipfinance.com, the first digital finance platform in shipping, launched during Posidonia its Version 2 of the shipowner platform (V2) which has been evolved to a multiship uni-tranche platform.
In the interview that follows Dagfinn Lunde Chairman & Marina Tzoutzouraki CFO of eShipfinance.com describe the highlights of the new version 2 of the platform and explain the philosophy of this innovative ship finance product which generates a detailed investment proposal with risk analysis independently of the company’s size.
-Describe your company’s landmarks in shipping. Have you embedded a culture of innovation and continuous adoption of the latest ship finance developments?
– As the first Fintech platform dedicated to maritime finance, innovation is in our DNA. When we launched in 2018, our primary goal was to make ship finance Easy, Fast and Secure for small and medium shipowners with good quality projects. Over the years, our understanding of the market and feedback from our end-users have enabled us to prioritize investment in the underlying technology and security of our platform, and ensure that we continue to make our platform more efficient for all stakeholders.
eShipfinance.com has evolved from a one-ship one-project product to a multi-ship uni-tranche platform. Version 2 of the eShipfinance.com Shipowner platform (V2) was officially released during Posidonia earlier in 2022. Highlights include:
1. Multi-vessel multi-sector projects – Whether your project includes1 or a 100 vessels, the new V2 platform will analyse it within the promised 20 minutes, even if the vessels belong to different sectors
2. Flexible capital structures – Shipowners can now place projects with over 50% leverage and our V2 platform can analyse the best capital structure for your project
3. A free consultation with our eShipfinance.com experts having over 200 years’ collective industry experience. V2 of the Investor portal is under development and will offer a range of end-to-end services to family offices, financial institutions, banks and other investors.
– Have you embraced ESG standards/Poseidon Rules in the services of your company? To what extent have you implemented sustainability criteria in calculating the interest/premium of a loan/funding facility?
– When eShipfinance.com was launched as a Fintech platform, we led digital disruption in the ship finance sector and boosted the efficiency of traditional resource-intensive processes. Today we help our shipowners and investors fast-track their digital transformation. At the core of our services, we are fundamentally a marketplace that matches the needs of shipowners and investors. We work closely with our investors on their requirements. Our team monitors all the new regulations and standards to ensure our clients are compliant. The industry is evolving and regulations, principles, frameworks and guidelines will be refined in the coming years, as will our collective understanding of them.
– Do you believe that it is quite challenging for a shipping company to go public? Are there plenty of opportunities for leasing and project financing?
– Going Public is a big step for any company. It entails much more rigid reporting and stricter governance in most cases. With respect to opportunities for leasing and project financing, we see plenty of opportunities for shipowners with more influx of capital from private equity and wealthy family offices.
– Corporate and large shipping companies create a scale to attract investors and financiers for further expansion. However small and medium sized companies perform more efficiently during the bad market. What is your organisations’ policy on this issue?
– Company Size is not the only factor contributing to performance. The culture, leadership, and mission of the company play a significant role too, as do the specifics of the project itself. At eShipfinance.com, our platform uses sophisticated technology tools to pre-analyse projects for shipowners, create a free business plan and subsequently generate a detailed investment proposal with risk analysis. It is then the decision of specialized selected investors to evaluate the solid projects we present to them.
– What is the impact on the shipfinance sector by the Ukraine conflict and sanctions landscape? What is your organisations’ involvement to exercise due diligence in your clients’ compliance process?
– As a Fintech platform that acts as a marketplace, we require our users to follow the sanctions and directives issued by the US and European governments at any point in time. Due diligence for compliance is part of our standard operating procedure – wherein we perform our own ‘Know Your Customer’ and ‘Know Your Vessel’ checks and validations.
– What are your organisation’s plans to expand and diversify your company’s activities in order to stay competitive & agile?
– We believe that digitization will be the norm in the future, and opportunities in the global market will be abundant. The prominence of alternative financiers is set to increase, as banks will have their limitations due to high volatility of the shipping market and stringent regulations. In the coming years, we hope to grow our team, expand our product lines and continue to work closely with industry leaders. Agile development is ingrained in our culture and we are continuously seeking ways to further simplify, streamline and optimize traditional ship finance.
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