In Times of Crisis, C2FO is a Safe Harbor for Minority- and Women-Owned Businesses

Kansas City, USA (July 28, 2020) — At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has hit minority- and women-owned businesses particularly hard, the financial system has been unable to meet their liquidity needs.

Early payment through C2FO, however, has been a reliable source of funding for these companies for many years, especially during times of crisis.

A recent analysis of invoices funded through C2FO early payment programs since the company’s inception shows that tens of thousands of minority- and women-owned business customers of C2FO utilize those programs at a rate of nearly 1.5 times the participation level of other businesses.

Specifically, 53% of women-owned businesses and 51% percent of minority-owned businesses have actively participated in the early payment programs, compared to 38% of businesses that are not women- or minority-owned.

As the world’s leading non-bank provider of working capital, C2FO has funded more than $110 billion in accounts receivable worldwide and serves more than one million customers through its secure, online platform.

“Accelerated payment of receivables is essential for all businesses in need of greater liquidity, but especially for those that may be underrepresented and underfunded in our current financial system,” said Alexander “Sandy” Kemper, founder and CEO of C2FO. “We are heartened to see more minority- and women-owned businesses turning to early payment as a reliable, risk-free source of funding.”

Early payment through C2FO provides businesses of all sizes with the capital needed to grow. Debbie Nguyen, owner and CEO of research and development company AZ Prototype in Mesa, Arizona, said her customer relationships often involve revenue cycles of between 90 and 120 days. Funding through C2FO helps bridge those cash flow gaps for her company.

“Through the years, C2FO’s early pay program has helped us receive early payment on those long-term customer invoices, which then gives us the cash we need to take on new projects and grow our business faster,” Nguyen said. “With the current economic uncertainty we all face, it is reassuring to know we can rely on C2FO to help meet our cash flow needs.”  

The economic crisis brought on by COVID-19 has been particularly devastating to minority-owned businesses. Research by the University of California at Santa Cruz and the National Bureau of Economic Research found that more than 41% of Black-owned businesses in the United States, roughly 440,000 enterprises, were forced to close down due to the pandemic, compared to 17% of white-owned businesses. Numerous reports also indicate that minority- and women-owned businesses did not receive their fair share of the more than $700 billion in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) money authorized by Congress and administered by the Small Business Administration.

In recent months, C2FO has taken steps to go beyond early payment to help ensure minority- and women-owned businesses have greater access to working capital. C2FO’s Equity and Inclusion Program provides diverse supplier certification, a reduced-rate early payment program for qualifying suppliers, and a community where diverse suppliers can connect, share information and explore business opportunities.

C2FO has also advocated for aggressive new measures aimed at providing more liquidity immediately for small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) adversely affected by COVID-19. In April, C2FO proposed the creation of a Small Business Supplier Protection Plan, which would provide low-cost funding for large companies to pay their SMB suppliers immediately. In July, C2FO also joined a coalition of 21 retail, manufacturing and business organizations calling for the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Federal Reserve to create new funding facilities to quickly aid companies impacted by COVID-19.

About C2FO
C2FO is working to deliver a future where every company in the world has the capital needed to grow. Our online platform matches more than $1.2 trillion of accounts payable and accounts receivable. Through this and our suite of innovative financial products, we connect businesses with the cash they need. Name Your Rate, and the C2FO platform will match your capital request with the available funds in seconds. Cash flow comes through early payment of invoices by your customers, A/R financing, and other data-driven funding options. C2FO is the world’s largest non-bank provider of working capital, serving over one million customers representing $10.5 trillion in annual sales across more than 180 countries. To learn more, visit C2FO.com.