Halotrade

Halotrade is a fintech company building a supply chain finance and transparency platform that connects sustainability and traceability data from across the tiers of a supply chain to the terms on which that chain is financed. The company's stated focus is on agri-commodity value chains, which it characterises as opaque, inefficient and poorly aligned with environmental and labour standards, creating exposure to forced labour, bribery, corruption and environmental damage, and leaving individual suppliers disconnected from global markets.

The platform combines a shared ledger with invoice financing. Data channels are introduced at each tier of a chain — from certification of farms and factories through to tracking of shipments until delivery — and the resulting records are used to give buyers and financiers an automated basis on which to incentivise and reward sustainable production. For banks, the company positions the system as a way to de-risk trade finance by accessing trusted data on the sustainability credentials of goods and producers. For brands and retailers it offers traceability, impact tracking over time and reduced regulatory and reputational risk. For farmers and manufacturers in the chain it is intended to deliver better data on their own operations and faster access to working capital at improved margins, with proven sustainability credentials supporting longer-term contracts.

Founding story

Shona Tatchell conceived the idea for Halotrade in 2015 while she was Head of Trade Finance Innovation at Barclays Bank, following a career of more than 25 years in global trade finance across several financial institutions. She had been a Director at Barclays for six years and previously Global Head of FIG Trade there, joining from HSBC where she was a senior manager in the European Structured Trade and Advisory team within Global Trade and Supply Chain. She began her career at The Chase Manhattan Bank after graduating from Oxford University with a BA in Modern Languages, spending 13 years with the bank and ultimately heading its Singapore trade business. Her aim with Halotrade was to transform supply chains using blockchain and trade finance by creating a system of incentives and rewards for participants to abide by international standards of sustainable production.

Business model

Halotrade offers corporate buyers, brands, retailers and financial institutions a platform that links sustainability data captured across supply chain tiers to trade and supply chain finance terms. Banks participating in the system purchase receivables from suppliers as in a conventional supply chain finance structure, rather than lending against the goods themselves, while verified sustainability performance is used to determine improved financing terms for suppliers.

Traction

Halotrade piloted the first iteration of its system in Project Trado together with a consortium of banks, multinational corporations and fintech companies, which released a technology-enabled sustainable supply chain finance model. The company won Supply Chain/Logistics Technology of the Year at the BusinessGreen Technology Awards 2019 and features in a Trade Finance Global/WTO white paper on blockchain and DLT in trade endorsed by the ICC.