Finance

APAC Middle-Market Leaders Embrace External Financing for Growth

Published

2 years ago

May 14, 2024

APAC Middle-Market Leaders Embrace External Financing for Growth

We are in the midst of a working capital revolution — one that is increasingly driven by innovation and made more necessary by the macroeconomic backdrop, particularly for those middle-market firms generating annual revenues between $50 million and $1 billion.

As more firms seek out and put external capital to work, they are finding that today’s working capital solutions are providing them with the cash flow requirements needed to meet the day-to-day requirements of their businesses, as well as with the flexibility necessary to scale that business and thrive long term.

“The tightening of monetary policy and inflationary pressures have suddenly made a lot of these corporates realize they need working capital for two reasons,” Chavi Jafa, head of commercial and money movement solutions, Asia Pacific, at Visa, told PYMNTS. “One, for short-term working capital to make sure that they don’t have any operational disturbances. And two, for strategic long-term investments into newer technologies and digital solutions.”

“In a lot of emerging economies, [we are seeing] a leapfrogging of technology and digital-first solutions, and it’s this corporate segment that tends to drive a lot of the growth in digital economization — they need that working capital to invest,” Jafa said.

That’s why, when compared to traditional working capital solutions which include overdraft facilities and working capital loans, today’s innovative and alternative offerings, such as virtual cards, have emerged as a critical imperative for corporates seeking sustainable growth.

Unlocking Working Capital Innovation in APAC Region

The rising tide of digitization in Asia-Pacific (APAC) economies presents an opportunity for working capital innovation.

With a growing preference for mobile-first experiences, digital solutions like virtual cards offer a seamless and user-friendly approach to managing working capital. As Jafa explained, by using the ubiquity of mobile devices and digital-first experiences, businesses can streamline their financial operations and gain greater control over their cash flows.

“When we think about a virtual card, it’s basically a credit line,” Jafa said. “And why is it becoming more interesting to a lot of these corporates? Well, for one, it’s a digital solution that comes with better data, which makes it very powerful. The second reason is around flexibility — it can be drawn upon, as needed, by a business. And thirdly, a lot of controls can be set on virtual cards, allowing them to be used for whatever purpose is needed.”

“The mindset has shifted around working capital solutions because of the value proposition that something like virtual cards bring,” Jafa added, underscoring the operational efficiency that comes with automating an entire working capital workflow end to end via a virtual card.

Recognizing the diverse needs of different sectors, industry-specific working capital solutions are gaining traction. Tailoring solutions to the unique requirements of sectors like eCommerce, healthcare and construction allows businesses to address specific pain points and optimize their working capital management strategies effectively.

“Asia is a pretty disparate region,” Jafa said. “We have very digitally forward economies like Australia and Singapore, but we also have emerging economies like Indonesia, and then you have an economy like India, which is pretty large and quite digitally ahead.”

Businesses in each come with their own sets of needs and trends as they relate to embracing and deploying working capital solutions, she added.

Education, Awareness Needed to Scale Innovations

One of the primary challenges hindering the widespread adoption of alternative working capital solutions is the lack of awareness among businesses. Traditionally, overdrafts and working capital lines have been the go-to options, with many unaware of alternative solutions such as virtual cards.

Bridging this awareness gap requires concerted efforts from industry stakeholders to educate businesses about the diverse array of working capital solutions available to them, Jafa said.

Another transformative trend reshaping the working capital landscape is the concept of embedded finance, she noted. By integrating payment solutions directly into existing business platforms, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, businesses can enjoy a frictionless payment experience without the need to navigate external banking interfaces. This embedded approach not only enhances efficiency but also democratizes access to working capital across various industries, from eCommerce to healthcare to construction.

“Within the context of the consumerization of B2B payments, everyone wants a seamless payment experience,” Jafa said. “They don’t want to leave the environment they are in.”

By embracing digital-first solutions, using embedded finance capabilities and fostering collaboration across sectors, businesses can unlock new efficiencies and propel their growth in an increasingly competitive landscape. As awareness grows and partnerships flourish, the future of working capital management in APAC looks promising, Jafa said.

See More In: alternative credit, alternative lending, APAC, B2B, B2B Payments, cash flow management, Chavi Jafa, commercial payments, Digital Payments, digital transformation, embedded finance, Featured News, Innovation, international, loans, Mobile Payments, News, PYMNTS News, virtual cards, Visa, working capital

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Finance

Blackstone backs Neysa in up to $1.2B financing as India pushes to build domestic AI infrastructure | TechCrunch

Published

6 hours ago

February 15, 2026

Press Room

Blackstone backs Neysa in up to .2B financing as India pushes to build domestic AI infrastructure | TechCrunch

Neysa, an Indian AI infrastructure startup, has secured backing from U.S. private equity firm Blackstone as it scales domestic compute capacity amid India’s push to build homegrown AI capabilities.

Blackstone and co-investors, including Teachers’ Venture Growth, TVS Capital, 360 ONE Assets, and Nexus Venture Partners, have agreed to invest up to $600 million of primary equity in Neysa, giving Blackstone a majority stake, Blackstone and Neysa told TechCrunch. The Mumbai-headquartered startup also plans to raise an additional $600 million in debt financing as it expands GPU capacity, a sharp increase from the $50 million it had raised previously.

The deal comes as demand for AI computing surges globally, creating supply constraints for specialized chips and data center capacity needed to train and run large models. Newer AI-focused infrastructure providers — often referred to as “neo-clouds” — have emerged to bridge that gap by offering dedicated GPU capacity and faster deployment than traditional hyperscalers, particularly for enterprises and AI labs with specific regulatory, latency, or customisation requirements.

Neysa operates in this emerging segment, positioning itself as a provider of customized, GPU-first infrastructure for enterprises, government agencies, and AI developers in India, where demand for local compute is still at an early but rapidly expanding stage.

“A lot of customers want hand-holding, and a lot of them want round-the-clock support with a 15-minute response and a couple of our resolutions. And so those are the kinds of things that we provide that some of the hyperscalers don’t,” said Neysa co-founder and CEO Sharad Sanghi.

Nesya co-founder and CEO Sharad SanghiImage Credits:Neysa

Ganesh Mani, a senior managing director at Blackstone Private Equity, said his firm estimates that India currently has fewer than 60,000 GPUs deployed — and it expects the figure to scale up nearly 30 times to more than two million in the coming years.

That expansion is being driven by a combination of government demand, enterprises in regulated sectors such as financial services and healthcare that need to keep data local, and AI developers building models within India, Mani told TechCrunch. Global AI labs, many of which count India among their largest user bases, are also increasingly looking to deploy computing capacity closer to users to reduce latency and meet data requirements.

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The investment also builds on Blackstone’s broader push into data center and AI infrastructure globally. The firm has previously backed large-scale data centre platforms such as QTS and AirTrunk, as well as specialized AI infrastructure providers including CoreWeave in the U.S. and Firmus in Australia.

Neysa develops and operates GPU-based AI infrastructure that enables enterprises, researchers, and public sector clients to train, fine-tune, and deploy AI models locally. The startup currently has about 1,200 GPUs live and plans to sharply scale that capacity, targeting deployments of more than 20,000 GPUs over time as customer demand accelerates.

“We are seeing a demand that we are going to more than triple our capacity next year,” Sanghi said. “Some of the conversations we are having are at a fairly advanced stage; if they go through, then we could see it sooner rather than later. We could see in the next nine months.”

Sanghi told TechCrunch that the bulk of the new capital will be used to deploy large-scale GPU clusters, including compute, networking and storage, while a smaller portion will go toward research and development and building out Neysa’s software platforms for orchestration, observability, and security.

Neysa aims to more than triple its revenue next year as demand for AI workloads accelerates, with ambitions to expand beyond India over time, Sanghi said. Founded in 2023, the startup employs 110 people across offices in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chennai.

Finance

Why doing everything right no longer protects Canadian families from financial triage

Published

18 hours ago

February 15, 2026

Press Room

Why doing everything right no longer protects Canadian families from financial triage

Two young children upset as parents fight at home.

It’s 2026, and most Canadian households aren’t asking how to get ahead — they’re asking how to avoid falling further behind. Fuelled by a quiet frustration and the common refrain behind this anxiety: If I’m doing everything right, why does it still feel like I’m losing ground?

For Stacy Yanchuk Oleksy, CEO of Money Mentors, that sentiment shows up daily in conversations she and her colleagues have with Canadians. These aren’t people who spend wildly; these are Canadians who have already cut spending, already tightened their budget and already done all the tasks required for responsible money management.

As Yanchuk Oleksy pointed out during an interview with Money.ca, the anxiety illustrates a subtle shift in how Canadians are handling the ongoing pressure of higher living costs, where families once talked about budgeting, now the discussion is brinkmanship — deciding what can’t be paid this month, not what should be paid.

These are the households already living lean — and still slipping.

For years, personal finance advice centred on discipline: Track your spending, pay down debt, avoid lifestyle creep.

But many families have reached a point where discipline alone no longer moves the needle.

“For households already stretched, stability just means the pressure isn’t getting worse — not that it’s getting better,” explains Yanchuk Oleksy.

With interest rates staying elevated longer than expected and everyday costs still stubbornly high, the margin for error has disappeared. Even small disruptions — a car repair, dental bill or temporary loss of overtime — can tip a household from “managing” to “making trade-offs.”

That’s when budgeting turns into triage.

Read more: Canadians spent $183B on dining and clothes in 2024. Prioritize these 4 critical investments instead and watch your net worth skyrocket

In practice, financial triage means deciding which obligations get paid first — and which get deferred.

“Families cut out anything non-essential — less food in the grocery cart, no dining out, pulling kids from activities, postponing travel — while still relying on credit to cover basics like utilities, school costs, or transportation,” says Yanchuk Oleksy. “Further down the line,” she said, “it looks like parents deciding which credit card or line of credit gets paid — and which one doesn’t.”

These choices are not made lightly. They’re tactical responses to a cash-flow problem, not signs of financial recklessness.

But over time, this juggling act becomes exhausting — mentally and emotionally — especially when progress never seems to materialize.

Financial triage doesn’t just strain bank accounts. It strains relationships.

Parents describe guilt over what their kids are missing, anxiety about unopened bills and rising conflict between partners about money decisions that feel impossible to “win.” Even when households agree on priorities, the constant pressure takes a toll.

“Inaction tends to be our default choice when it comes to money,” explains Yanchuk Oleksy. “We’re afraid to make the wrong decision, and the discomfort and shame only grow over time.”

This is often the stage where people stop talking about money with friends or family altogether — not out of secrecy, but shame.

What makes 2026 especially difficult is the disconnect between expectations and reality.

Many Canadians expected rate stability — or early cuts — to ease pressure. Instead, they’re facing a prolonged period where costs remain high, wages haven’t fully caught up and debt relief feels out of reach.

Stability, as Yanchuk Oleksy often points out, doesn’t equal affordability.

And when families do everything they’re “supposed” to do but still fall behind, the psychological impact can be as heavy as the financial one.

As Yanchuk Oleksy explains, there are a few red flags that can be used as alerts — as a signal for when the household has moved beyond short-term stress and into dangerous territory:

Credit cards are consistently maxed out, with no ability to pay more than the minimum
Using payday loans or high-cost instalment loans to cover everyday expenses
Missing or delaying payments on utilities, rent or credit products
Increasing tension or conflict at home is tied directly to money decisions

None of these indicates failure. They indicate a system under strain.

“These are early indicators that stress is turning into a crisis,” Yanchuk Oleksy said. “And the earlier people reach out for help, the more options they have.”

Financial triage isn’t a long-term solution — but it is a signal.

It’s a sign that households may need more than budgeting tweaks. That could mean professional credit counselling, restructuring debt or getting outside help to assess options before the situation worsens.

Most importantly, it means recognizing that falling behind in this environment isn’t a personal failure. It’s a reflection of sustained economic pressure hitting household balance sheets in very real, very human ways.

For many, the goal isn’t about getting ahead but holding on — and knowing when to ask for help before holding on becomes impossible.

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.

Finance

Pinnacle Financial Partners Conference: CEO touts merger culture, 9%-11% loan growth, $250M synergies

Published

1 day ago

February 14, 2026

Press Room

Pinnacle Financial Partners Conference: CEO touts merger culture, 9%-11% loan growth, 0M synergies

Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP) executives emphasized cultural alignment, integration planning, and continued growth expectations following the company’s recently completed merger, during a conference fireside chat featuring President and CEO Kevin Blair and CFO Jamie Gregory. Culture int