The **project outcome** will develop an **innovative automated Credit Grading Tool**, using data derived from recently implement Open Banking protocols, enabling **micro-SME cash flow forecasting based loan affordably analysis**, helping CDFI lenders quickly assess loan viability for loans in the sub-£100k range and aid SME business owners understand/ assess the risks/opportunities associated with taking out loans. As a **CBILS authorised lender (with own Community Development Finance Institution, CDFI, to make loans)**, and proprietary micro-financing platform for CDFIs, developed since February 2016, we are uniquely placed to understand the urgent need for technology to expedite micro-finance loans to SMEs. **Current solutions offered by larger lenders** are by necessity driven by automated algorithms poorly suited to evaluate critical small business decision making e.g. a café owner considering a second espresso coffee machine purchase. Typically, automated decisions are driven by data from credit bureaus and Companies House which is out-of-date and for a rapidly evolving micro-business bears little relationship to their current status. **Current solutions offered by CDFIs** are often based on manual reviews of loan affordability, not suited to the rapid decision making needed to approve large volumes of loans to SMEs. Prior estimates of the SME funding gap were £2.2bn+ pa. Post Covid-19 this will be substantially higher. Despite manual processes supporting SME applicants, business owners lacking the experience/skills in finance are naturally cautious about accepting a loan they may not be able to afford and lack the tools to fully understand the loan affordability risks. The emergence of Open Banking protocols has opened up new possibilities in terms of automation. However, most existing development has focussed on consumer focussed applications. In the aftermath of Covid-19, SME solutions will be a necessity to enable the survival of many thousands of micro-SME's in need of urgent loan financing. The **project outcome** will be to develop an **innovative automated Credit Grading Tool**, using data derived from Open Banking protocols, enabling **micro SME cash flow forecasting based loan affordably analysis**, helping CDFI lenders quickly assess loan viability for micro-loans and aid business owners understand/assess the risks/opportunities associated with borrowing. The game-changing **business outcome** will be that SME business owners, rejected by algorithm driven mainstream lenders, will now have **opportunities to access loan financing provided by CDFIs far quicker** and be able to fully understand the business logic, risks and opportunities presented by such a loan, based on real-time data available through Open Banking. With the extension for impact funding, further enhancements to our automated Credit Grading Tool tool will be made. These enhancements will: • Enable a deeper analysis of open banking data, by introducing seasonal factors for improved cash flow forecasting; • Allow businesses with cash transactions to provide more visibility to underwriters, • Reconcile accounting information to open banking data enabling better understanding, and improved underwriting • Provide additional forecasting customisation to businesses to better reflect the future prospects, which is particularly important in the light of increased economic volatility (i.e. ability to better convey the impact of Covid-19), • Develop the groundwork by ensuring relevant variables for algorithm iteration are analysed within the design and back-end for use when dynamic iteration is delivered Q2 2021 onwards. • These enhancements will enable businesses to better use the cash flow tool in these uncertain times, where simple forecasting would struggle to provide meaningful information in an automated manner. Our tool remains a ‘one-of-a-kind’ for small businesses.