Sydney, Australia. — April 20, 2022 — Esker, a global cloud platform and leader in AI-driven process automation solutions for finance and customer service functions, today announced it has made a strategic investment in its partner LSQ, a leading provider of technology-driven working capital finance and payments solutions. As a first step, the investment is made through a USD 5 million convertible promissory note to strengthen LSQ and Esker’s partnership and accelerate the development and commercial expansion of their common supply chain finance solutions. The partners have agreed to potentially increase Esker’s financial involvement in LSQ based on the development of their common business.
Supply chain disruptions and increased economic uncertainty linked to the COVID-19 pandemic have revealed the need for companies to strengthen their ecosystems and better collaborate with customers and suppliers to optimise their common competitive situations. As global economies and individual companies become increasingly codependent, Esker believes the ability to generate positive-sum growth will be a key differentiating factor for long-term competitiveness and performance. As a result, the ability to optimise cashflow and working capital management across entire business ecosystems will emerge as a truly strategic objective. For Esker and LSQ, supply chain finance is an essential element in this effort and demand for it is expected to increase drastically in the near future.