Banjo is an online lender providing secured and unsecured loans to small to medium businesses (SMEs).

The business caters to the 51% of SMEs who have no business-lending product other than an overdraft or credit card.

Banjo will provide 6 month unsecured working capital finance at annualised rates similar to those provided by major financial institutions. Loans can be paid back earlier without penalty and clients can access ongoing funds without the need to re-apply.

The integration of various data sources means loan applications can be assessed quickly and funds deposited within 24-48 hours; and already stretched business customers can avoid the paperwork and lengthy delays associated with traditional lending channels.

Banjo can verify customers by uploading a ‘selfie’, saving time and unnecessary paperwork. The whole process is paperless, and completed online with just 10 simple questions.

CEO Andrew Colliver, an ex-NAB senior executive, along with a team of ex-bankers and ‘fintech’ (financial technology) experts, has spent the last two years building the marketplace lending platform that promises to take the pain out of business borrowing.

Identifying a sector that remains underserviced by traditional lenders, Colliver and his ex-NAB business partners self-funded the start up which has recently raised $7.5 million in seed funding from like-minded experienced tech investors.

“In the digital age, customer expectations are for anything, anytime, anywhere banking, aligning perfectly with the Banjo model; custom-built for the user experience, with ease and availability on any platform 24/7,” said Colliver.

“The vision was simple. We wanted to take the stress out of business lending by leveraging technology. Business is challenging enough as it is,” he said.