Compliance is one of those words that can make any entrepreneur both smile and sigh. Smile, because being compliant is the first step to becoming successful, and sigh, because it is a tedious process that many don’t always understand. Thankfully, through innovation, there is solutions that can help.
“Innoble is a system, a digital platform to help both procurement companies like blue chip supply chain access opportunities and SMMEs,” says Cheslin Denman, Owner and CEO of Innoble.
The brand aims to remove the middle man that stands between small businesses and business opportunities. Their mission is to enable these businesses to unlock financial and business support. It has been in operation for over five years and continues to serve SMEs across all industries.
Denman explains that SMMEs and big corporations are often found in a deadlock of distrust, especially with newer, unknown players joining the field. “These two don’t always trust each other. When a large amount of money is at stake, a lot of people choose to give business to individuals who they already worked with before. This is because you can go to bed at night knowing that the job is done by businesses that you trust.
“But what happens with the long list of South African SMEs that are entering markets and who can do the job cheaper?” The answer is: Nothing.
“Two things happen in this marketplace,” he elaborates. “One is their documentation. They need to go through this rigorous onboarding process that the company you call has created, secondly people ask if you can you please pay them (the SME) 50% upfront so they can have the money to do the job.”
The deadlock that occurs is that one party doesn’t want to spend money when they aren’t sure the job will be done, and the other cannot spend money on a job that they are unsure will pay them.
Verified Compliance Leads to Trust
That is where Innoble comes in. “We verify the particular SMME before they engage with either a corporate or a funding institution. We make sure they dot their I’s and cross their T’s.”
Denman points out that SMEs often ask: Can’t anyone do that?
“What makes us different from other service providers is the speed with which we help SMMEs achieve their compliance goals through technology,” he answers. “We have integrations with CIPC, SARS, regulatory bodies and AI document scanners that verify your ID on the spot.”
Denman notes that there is a full team behind the technology too. Beyond the automations, there are people following up and making sure that you clicked on the right button based on your business goals, whether it is to be supply chain-ready, tender-ready or even funding-ready.
“We are able to give you access to a quick report that can tell you to what percentage you are compliant. That is what we found to be gold.
“Because of the proactiveness of compliance, we have understood the culture of SMMEs. Often they only complete any regulatory paperwork once they are informed that something is missing or wrong. Their mentality is reactive, not proactive.
When suppliers are compliant, it leads to increased trust between corporates and funding institutions.
Innovation in Digital Puts Compliance in Your Pocket
“What this digital platform does is put compliance in your pocket. You can see at any given time and you can see when you are overdue with a document. You can then either reach out to an accountant who can help you complete the required documents or if the accountant isn’t able to cater for you, Innoble offers a quick service that helps you.
Innoble’s instantaneous service support is a personal touch to help business owners with their compliance goals. We have a button that you can click, download the document and see what the cost will be for a support person to assist you with it. This puts the power back in the hands of the entrepreneur.
The future of compliance according to Demnan will lead to a verified digital certification – almost like a blue tick on instagram – to communicate to everyone in the market place that potential suppliers are compliant.
If you are looking for additional advice that doesn’t relate to compliance, reach out to an expert on SME Advice.
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