Context Business Lending launched an e-commerce division. With online retail sales skyrocketing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many e-commerce companies and distribution centers have found themselves without viable working capital solutions to help facilitate growth. Context Business Lending designed an offering to specifically address the needs of e-commerce companies.
Typically, the majority of the collateral available to e-commerce companies to lend against for asset-based loans is inventory. “Old-school ABL” companies are often restricted by leverage providers as to how much inventory they can lend against, making many e-commerce companies ineligible for traditional offerings. Drawing on the flexibility of being backed by family-office funding, Context Business Lending will offer these companies loans backed by collateral that is inventory heavy or even inventory only.
As CBL continues to find ways to keep up with changing market needs and to modernize the antiquated business of non-bank ABL, a centerpiece of its strategy is to integrate automations and artificial intelligence into its business.
“We have an experienced, creative team with a shared appreciation for thinking outside of the box,” Meredith Carter, president and CEO of Context Business Lending, said. “If something in our business can be automated, we are working on automating it. Doing so will bring this industry into the modern age. The resulting analytics allow our team to focus on analysis rather than inputs, expediate processes as we scale and provide even better customer service.”
“As a growing e-commerce company, finding working capital solutions can be difficult,” the CEO of one of Context Business Lending’s e-commerce borrowers, said, according to Context Business Lending. “We are excited to be working with CBL, who understands our business and the needs associated with e-commerce businesses. CBL has the flexibility to lend in a way that works for us and can grow alongside us.”
Context Business Lending is a family office-backed asset-based lender. In 2020, Context Business Lending nearly quadrupled its portfolio, hired new team members and was recognized by ABF Journal as one of the Top 25 Most Innovative Companies in Commercial Finance.