Finance
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.
Bezant Resources PLC (AIM:BZT) has secured a $7 million financing package and a long-term offtake agreement for its Hope and Gorob copper project in Namibia, providing funding as the mine moves towards first production later this year.
The AIM-listed miner said it had completed definitive agreements with Hartree Metals, a subsidiary of commodities trading group Hartree Partners, covering both project finance and the sale of future copper concentrate output.
Under the deal, Hartree will provide a secured and convertible prepayment facility of up to $7 million in five tranches to support mine construction and commissioning activities. The facility carries a four-year term, including a 12-month repayment grace period, with interest charged at the secured overnight financing rate plus 4.5%.
Hartree has also agreed to purchase 100% of copper concentrate produced from the project for the life of the operation under an offtake agreement on market terms.
Production is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2026, with concentrate shipped through Namibia’s Walvis Bay port as operations ramp up.
The financing gives Hartree the option to convert some or all of the facility into Bezant shares at 0.16p each, a 28% premium to the company’s closing share price on Tuesday. Warrants could also be received, as well as the right to appoint a director if its holding rises above 10%.
Separately, Bezant agreed to extend repayment of a £700,000 convertible loan facility with existing shareholder Sanderson Capital until September 2027, easing near-term funding pressure as the company develops the Namibian asset.
Public funding alone can’t fill the financing gap for long-term nature restoration projects that mitigate the impacts of climate change, says environmental fund manager Finance Earth.
The London, UK-based firm drove that point home earlier this month when it announced a £64.6 million ($86.4 million) first close of its Big Nature Impact Fund LP, which blends anchor capital from the UK government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) with backing from institutional investors.
Part of the UK Nature Impact Fund platform, the Big Nature Impact Fund is the UK’s largest-ever nature-as-infrastructure fund, and the first to combine public and institutional investment for nature restoration projects.
Defra provided a £30 million ($40 million) cornerstone investment, while the remaining capital came from Zurich Insurance Group, Admiral Group, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, and the Church of England’s Social Impact Investment Programme.
The fund is targeting a final raise of £90–120 million ($120–$160 million).
Defra unlocking private finance ‘at scale’
The fund’s structure could provide a blueprint in future for others, suggests Finance Earth investment director Rich Fitton.
The Defra contribution, in particular, could help de-risk investment into nature projects for more commercial backers.
Defra’s capital sits at the bottom of the fund’s cashflow waterfall, absorbing first losses and only seeing returns once the private investors have recovered their capital in addition to a 7% preferred return.
For every £1 of public money, the structure is designed to unlock at least £2 of private investment.
“Structuring Defra’s capital as downside protection was fundamental to unlocking private finance at scale into what remains a relatively new asset class,” Fitton told AgFunderNews.
Taking a cue from renewables
Rather than acquiring land outright, the 12-year fund will partner with landowners and project developers, funding woodland creation, peatland restoration, and habitat projects across England. Revenues will come primarily from verified carbon credits and biodiversity units sold under offtake agreements, rather than from timber, farming, or land price appreciation.
Describing the model as “nature as infrastructure” helps lower the psychological barrier for institutional investors unfamiliar with natural capital, explains Fitton.
“We design the funds to make it look and feel and smell as much like a traditional infrastructure fund as possible, because the underlying investments do look a lot and live like infrastructure investment.”
Both share high upfront capital expenditure, multi-decade revenue streams, and a clear path from development through to the operational phase.
“We see the natural capital sector as following in the footsteps of those more established sectors,” explains Fitton. “This is a familiar structure of investment but in a new asset class: nature.”
The exit strategy borrows directly from renewable energy and what happened as solar and wind energy matured as asset classes. Finance Earth is targeting a five-year mark as a key inflection point when woodland and peatland projects typically hit their first carbon credit verification event.
At that point, the assets should become attractive to the so-called “YieldCo” funds that buy stabilized, operational assets and take on only market risk, not construction or development risk.
The fund will invest only in fully verified credits, sidestepping the more common practice of selling pre-verification carbon credits in UK voluntary markets. It is also one of the first funds to receive the Financial Conduct Authority’s new “Sustainability Impact” label.
Beyond England
Fitton acknowledges the challenges ahead. Natural capital remains a “loose term” covering everything from commercial timber to biodiversity credits, and the markets underpinning the fund’s revenues are still nascent. The fund is betting that high-integrity projects, particularly mixed native woodland rather than monoculture commercial forestry, will command a price premium as buyers become more discerning.
With its first close complete, Finance Earth is now deploying capital against an identified pipeline of over £100 million in projects.
Its ambitions also stretch beyond England, with future funds planned for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. These and other projects could lay groundwork for replicating the blended finance model in other jurisdictions where a public or philanthropic anchor investor is willing to absorb first-loss risk.
This week also saw the UK arm of investment firm Capital Continuum Advisers merge into Finance Earth to create what the company says is “one of the world’s leading specialized platforms for climate and nature investment.”
CCA UK brings its carbon and nature project structuring expertise into Finance Earth’s fund management capabilities, and the latter will take on CCA UK’s pipeline of carbon projects in Africa and Southeast Asia.
“This is a useful model that can be replicated elsewhere,” Fitton says. “Watch this space.”
Financial professional speaks with two clients in an office. While AI may largely influence fewer job listings for particular finance jobs, it is also starting to provide a few opportunities as well.
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Artificial intelligence is completely revolutionizing corporate finance departments and Wall Street investment firms. As intelligent automation streamlines complex data processing, many ambitious professionals are left asking a critical question: will AI replace jobs in finance?
The real answer to this industry-wide anxiety is nuanced: Instead of eliminating careers entirely, AI is aggressively reshaping everyday job descriptions and elevating what it means to be an expert. To successfully survive this transition, you must look past the initial panic and understand where there are challenges and where there are new avenues for professional growth.
Artificial intelligence began reshaping finance several years ago through algorithmic trading, but the recent explosion of generative AI has accelerated its influence. Today, machine learning models analyze massive datasets, simulate complex economic scenarios and automate routine reporting. AI’s presence is also projected to grow exponentially into a foundational industry standard.
Modern AI capabilities have evolved. Intelligent systems now utilize natural language processing to read market reports, flag accounting mistakes and automatically organize corporate banking files. According to a global financial technology trend report, companies are doubling down on this tech to save time. Because of these massive time savings, major banks are changing how their teams work every day. The integration of AI into the financial sector presents significant challenges, such as targeted corporate downsizing and security and compliance risks.
The threat of downsizing is very real. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, Wall Street banks are projected to cut up to 200,000 jobs over the next few years due to intelligent automation.
Junior associates and entry-level analysts are some of the most affected, as their roles often involve routine reporting and basic financial modeling. The most significant displacement occurs in positions dedicated to basic bookkeeping, transactional accounting and manual data entry. This trend extends into related fields, where high-volume data verification and standard retail banking roles are seeing fewer available job listings.
The AI boom has also created an entirely new category of specialized, hybrid finance roles, with more opportunities poised to emerge as technology advances.
A recent Boston Consulting Group report notes that most banks are deploying AI for basic activities rather than for those that drive transformation. To fix this, companies are desperately looking for specialized human teams who can use AI tools to drive real, high-level business growth. As automated software handles basic computation, financial professionals are still needed to manage, audit and interpret those pipelines. Instead of producing reports, financial professionals are validating the reports AI generates in hybrid roles.
Fintech giant Klarna previously cut hundreds of customer-facing and back-office roles due to automation, but subsequently rehired for hybrid positions that require human interpretation.
Over the next decade, completely new career paths will continue to emerge. Much like mastering the market’s highest-paying trade skills and jobs, long-term career security in finance now belongs to those who develop specialized, practical expertise.
The division of labor is fundamentally shifting, as seen in these five defining hybrid career paths reshaping the current market:
An AI automation engineer in finance is a specialized professional responsible for designing, deploying and monitoring automated workflows for core accounting processes, including accounts payable, accounts receivable and financial close acceleration. They essentially bridge the gap between traditional software development and corporate financial controllership. Breaking into this highly lucrative field requires a unique blend of corporate accounting knowledge, data engineering and hands-on experience deploying machine learning platform systems. Candidates typically need a background in financial data analysis paired with technical proficiency in scripting and automation tools.
An AI FP&A manager uses real-time machine learning tools to run predictive corporate financial models and “what-if” revenue forecasting scenarios. Instead of manually sorting past quarter spreadsheets, they interpret live data to forecast sudden market volatility and corporate cash flow trends.
Breaking into this field requires strong traditional finance acumen, deep data literacy and the ability to translate complex AI insights into a clear strategic business narrative. Candidates typically need solid corporate finance experience combined with hands-on familiarity with predictive analytics platforms and data visualization software.
An AI governance and compliance manager directly manages the critical ethical, legal and regulatory boundaries that govern automated workflows across corporate financial systems. As autonomous software increasingly dictates credit scoring, lending algorithms and audit loops, these officers ensure that machine-driven decisions firmly hold up under strict SEC and accounting rules.
Breaking into this high-stakes field requires an expert background in risk management, corporate audit procedures and financial ethics. Candidates typically need a deep understanding of compliance frameworks paired with the ability to identify algorithmic bias, data flaws or security leaks in financial models.
An AI RevOps analyst brings technology, sales, marketing and corporate finance together. This role uses machine learning algorithms to spot hidden leaks in the company’s revenue pipeline, optimize pricing structures in real time and tell leadership exactly where their next dollar is going to come from.
Breaking into this field requires a solid understanding of financial cash flows and the ability to manage modern revenue platforms and predictive software tools. Candidates need to be comfortable looking at data across multiple departments and translating those numbers into advice for executives.
An AI quantitative portfolio strategist uses machine learning models to build, test and run next-generation investment strategies. Instead of guessing how the market will move, they design automated algorithms to instantly scan alternative global datasets — like supply chain shifts or consumer sentiment trends — to protect and grow client capital.
Breaking into this high-stakes field requires traditional asset management acumen, data literacy and the curiosity to ask unconventional questions about market anomalies. Candidates typically need a background in financial research or portfolio management combined with hands-on experience using predictive investment platforms. Financial professionals must intentionally shift away from manual calculations and pivot toward strategic advisory roles. Prioritizing a blend of technical expertise and leadership communication can minimize the negative impacts of AI and protect your long-term value on the open job market.
Thriving in this new environment requires mastering two distinct skill sets:
AI can easily generate a report, but it cannot explain the truth behind the numbers. By remaining completely transparent and data-driven, you transform from a basic data tracker into a highly relevant, trusted advisor that executives rely on.
AI is not likely to eliminate the finance workforce. It is much more likely to transform existing financial careers, with the future pointing to a collaborative ecosystem in which professionals use judgment, handle strategy, manage relationships and implement ethics while machines handle rapid computation.
That said, professionals need to adapt early to tech-driven workflows to aim toward long-term career stability. Traditional career ladders are shifting, making your ability to ask critical questions and assertively pitch data-driven solutions much more valuable than traditional skills.
Lucrative career paths are expanding for senior advisors who possess the executive presence to guide corporate decision-making. Career longevity belongs to professionals who pair baseline financial acumen with tech-focused data skills, relentless curiosity and the strategic communication needed to guide executive decisions.
How AI Has Impacted The Finance Industry
The Potential Risk AI Imposes on Finance Jobs
Where AI Is Creating New Job Opportunities In Finance
1. AI Automation Engineer, Finance And Accounting
2. AI Financial Planning And Analysis (FP&A) Manager
3. AI Governance and Compliance Manager
4. AI Revenue Operations (RevOps) Analyst
5. AI Quantitative Portfolio Strategist
The Skills Finance Professionals Need To Stay Relevant
Could AI Actually Take Over Finance Jobs?
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