How Unsecured Purchase Financing Transformed a ₹450 Cr Seafood Export Business
A Case Study on Unsecured Purchase Financing for a Medium-Scale Agribusiness
A leading seafood export company operating a farm-to-export supply chain faced persistent working capital challenges. The business sourced shrimp directly from hundreds of small-scale farmers most of whom were unorganised and lacked formal legal or financial structures.
Due to the informal nature of these transactions, traditional lenders were reluctant to extend credit. There were no contracts or tangible assets to offer as security. Despite a strong turnover and robust processing operations, the company struggled to access flexible financing that could power timely procurement ultimately impacting volumes and pricing leverage.
Explore SolutionsThe Roadblock
The company explored various credit avenues, including relationships with large banks and government-backed guarantee schemes such as CGTMSE. However, several constraints remained:
- Government policies and guarantee schemes coverage did not align with the company’s scale or dynamic procurement needs.
- Asset-heavy bank loans required collateral that the business did not hold in sufficient form at the entity level.
- Slow disbursement timelines were incompatible with the fast-moving, perishable nature of seafood procurement.
Meanwhile, competitors with access to better capital structures were growing stronger. The company’s reliance on internal accruals and delayed payments to suppliers was becoming unsustainable.
The Objective: Enabling Upfront Payments Without Collateral Constraints
The company’s leadership aimed to implement a working capital solution that could:
- Provide unsecured liquidity, no asset-backed collateral required
- Enable direct, instant payments to unregistered small farmers
- Be activated quickly during seasonal procurement windows
- Preserve supplier relationships and enhance trust
- Offer cost-effective capital aligned with export margin expectations
Ultimately, the goal was to empower the business to secure raw material at the right time and price, increasing throughput and profitability.
The CredAble Approach: Structured, Unsecured PID for Disaggregated Procurement
CredAble’s platform team collaborated with the company’s finance leaders to deeply understand procurement workflows and designed a customised Purchase Invoice Discounting (PID) facility tailored to their needs.
Key Elements of the Solution:
- Unsecured Capital Access
Provided working capital without the need for physical collateral ensuring speed, agility, and reduced paperwork.
- Farmer-Level Payment Enablement
Enabled direct, on-time payments to small-scale farmers at the point of procurement.
- Rapid Disbursement with Minimal Documentation
Leveraged historical procurement data and business fundamentals for quick and seamless underwriting.
- Digitally Tracked Disbursement
Monitored and structured fund disbursements to align with real-time procurement and invoice flows.
Solution: Tangible Transformation
The unsecured PID facility had an immediate impact:
- Secured raw material at optimal prices by offering upfront payment, giving the company an edge over intermediaries.
- Boosted gross margins by enabling higher volumes of shrimp processing during peak procurement windows.
- Increased agility compared to larger competitors who relied on slower or collateral-based funding.
Strengthened supplier loyalty through reliable and prompt payments.
Why This Matters: Financing Where It’s Needed Most
In sectors like seafood export, upstream procurement is a mission-critical activity. Delays or underfunding at this stage lead to reduced margins and lost market opportunities. CredAble’s unsecured PID model gave the company capital at the point of greatest impact right at the farmer level without compromise.
Looking Ahead
The company now views CredAble not merely as a financial service provider but as a strategic working capital partner. As they expand and formalise their sourcing operations, the PID model offers a scalable blueprint for procurement-led businesses across agribusiness and export-driven sectors.
Key Takeaway
Procurement financing in informal, disaggregated supply chains demands a platform-first, unsecured approach. CredAble’s solution empowered the company to move fast, unlock margins, and operate with greater financial agility.
“In procurement-centric businesses, timing is everything. CredAble helped us move fast when it mattered most.”
- Head of Finance, Leading Seafood Exporter
Think Working Capital… Think CredAble!