Rewiring working capital finance with AI, Raja Debnath, MD, and Chairperson, Veefin Group

By Puja Sharma

Veefin is reshaping working capital finance with AI-led risk control, modular platforms, and multi-lender orchestration, scaling globally with innovation, compliance, and customer-first focus at its core.

How do you see working capital management evolving in the next decade, and what global shifts will define this transformation?

Working capital management is no longer just about operational efficiency; it is also about financial stability. Over the next decade, it will become a board-level priority, where liquidity, resilience, and sustainability converge. I see four big shifts driving this transformation:

• Digital-first ecosystems: CFOs and treasurers will lean on platforms that embed AI, APIs, and automation into every layer of working capital. The winners will be those who move from fragmented tools to unified, intelligent systems.

• Supply chain resilience: Global shocks have proven that traditional models are fragile. Businesses will adopt financing structures that protect suppliers across tiers, ensuring continuity of cash flow and production.

• Data-driven agility: Decisions will move from being backwards-looking to predictive. Banks are already investing heavily in AI credit models to reduce turnaround times from weeks to minutes
— this trend is expected to accelerate.

• Sustainability as strategy: Working capital programs will embed ESG goals. Financing terms will increasingly reward suppliers who demonstrate sustainable practices, making sustainability and liquidity two sides of the same coin.

With automation reshaping credit scoring and fraud detection, how should financial institutions strike a balance between speed and responsible risk management?

Speed without responsibility is a recipe for systemic risk. At Veefin, we believe technology should augment, not replace, human judgment. The balance comes from four essential elements that work together to strengthen resilience and trust in financial systems.

The first is the use of advanced AI models that can scan millions of transactions in real time, flagging anomalies at the earliest stage. This speed and scale help institutions respond to threats before they spiralinto major risks. Equally important is explainable AI. Banks cannot afford to rely on black-box models where decision-making logic remains hidden. For an industry built on trust, fairness, transparency, and accountability are non-negotiable.

The third pillar is continuous oversight. Regular audits, stress tests, and multi-layered defence mechanisms are vital to keep pace with evolving fraud tactics and regulatory requirements. Without this vigilance, even the most sophisticated systems can become outdated quickly. Finally, the human-in-the-loop approach ensures that technology is not making critical calls in isolation. While machines excel at processing massive datasets and identifying patterns, humans bring judgment, context, and ethical reasoning to the table. The most effective risk management outcomes emerge from this synergy—AI provides precision and speed, while humans deliver interpretation and accountability.

Together, these elements highlight that the future of finance isn’t about humans versus machines, but about building systems where each strengthens the other. It’s this balance of innovation and responsibility that creates long-term stability, especially in an era where digital transactions continue to surge and threats evolve daily.

What does true legacy modernisation look like for banks and corporates, and how can it be achieved without operational disruption?

Legacy modernisation is not about ripping and replacing systems; it’s about building agile, composable, and future-ready platforms. The most
effective playbook is:

• Modular architectures: upgrade piece by piece rather than one big bang.

• Cloud and SaaS adoption: redirect IT spends from maintenance (which eats up 20–30% today) to innovation.

• Strong data migration strategy: with pilots and phased rollouts to de-risk change.

• Stakeholder buy-in: modernisation fails when it’s treated as only a tech project. It must be a business-wide transformation with alignment across leadership.

This approach not only minimises disruption but ensures technology investments directly accelerate business growth.

What are the biggest lessons from scaling Veefin across $30bn disbursements and 15+ diverse financial ecosystems?

Scaling Veefin has taught us five clear lessons:

• One-size-fits-all doesn’t work: every market needs contextualisation. Our adaptability has been the key to global adoption.

• Seamless integrations win trust: banks don’t want 10 vendors; they want one partner who plugs into their core, ERPs, and ecosystems effortlessly.

• Compliance is non-negotiable: success across geographies comes only when you build with regulatory agility at the core.

• Customer-centricity drives growth: listening to clients has shaped many of our features, including our ecosystem play with PSB Xchange.

• Never stop iterating: the product we sell today is vastly ahead of the one we launched seven years back, because we keep  challenging ourselves to rethink what’s possible.

How can multi-lender orchestration become a game-changer for MSME liquidity and institutional asset efficiency?

If there’s one innovation that can truly change MSME credit, it’s multilender orchestration. Platforms like PSB Xchange, which Veefin has built and manages in India, are showing how:

• MSMEs get real choice: access to multiple lenders instead of dependency on one.

• Better loan terms: lender competition translates into better pricing and flexibility.

• Shared risk: spreading exposure across lenders builds resilience.

• Operational efficiency: a unified digital layer eliminates paperwork and accelerates disbursements.

This model democratises liquidity for MSMEs while ensuring institutional capital is deployed more efficiently. We are now launching this multi-lender model in five countries over the next nine months.

Which specific innovations—whether product expansion, ecosystem partnerships, or geographic growth—will anchor Veefin’s next chapter globally?

Veefin’s next chapter is about scale with depth. Three anchors stand out:

• Product innovation:Expanding beyond SCF into trade finance, cash management, with AI deeply embedded into decisionmaking.

• Ecosystem partnerships: We are in the process of launching our multi-lender marketplace across five geographies over the next nine months. This is core to our growth.

• Geographic expansion: Nigeria is now our African hub; more countries will follow shortly. Emerging markets across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East will be our growth engines, while developed markets will look to us for niche working capital finance solutions.

Our goal is clear: to be the platform of choice when any bank, NBFC, or corporate globally thinks about Working Capital Finance.