--- title: "Women in Product: Building Clarity Lenders Can Rely On" description: We look at Fintech & Female Founders and How Women Are Disrupting the Debt Lending Space. image: https://insights.smecapital.com/hubfs/smecapital-blog-title-sm%20(2).png --- [![](https://insights.smecapital.com/hubfs/SME%20Capital%20Images/smecapital-logo.svg)](https://www.smecapital.com) [Business Funding](https://www.smecapital.com/business-funding) [Portfolio](https://www.smecapital.com/portfolio) [Case Studies](https://www.smecapital.com/case-studies) [News & Insights](https://insights.smecapital.com/) [About us](https://www.smecapital.com/about-us) [Contact](https://www.smecapital.com/contact-us) Legacy [For Investors](https://www.smecapital.com/legacy-invest) ** [Log in](https://app.smecapital.com/) Looking for funding × [Business Funding](https://www.smecapital.com/business-funding) [Portfolio](https://www.smecapital.com/portfolio) [Case Studies](https://www.smecapital.com/case-studies) [News & Insights](https://insights.smecapital.com/) [About us](https://www.smecapital.com/about-us) --- Legacy [For Investors](https://www.smecapital.com/legacy-invest) --- [Contact](https://insights.smecapital.com/women-in-product-building-clarity-lenders-can-rely-on#) [Log in ](https://app.smecapital.com/) Looking for funding **![back-chev](https://insights.smecapital.com/hubfs/back-chev.svg) [News & Insights](https://insights.smecapital.com)** # Women in Product: Building Clarity Lenders Can Rely On In lending, confidence comes from clarity. Underwriters, credit committees and portfolio teams are asked to make high stakes decisions under time pressure, often with imperfect information. Bank data is rich, but messy. Behavioural signals are valuable, but hard to surface. And traditional reporting is almost always backward looking. [Navrisk](https://www.navrisk.io/) was built to change that, and a significant part of that transformation has been led by the women shaping its product, UX and platform experience. We hear from the women reshaping fintech and driving innovation in the lending space; discussing how Navrisk is breaking down barriers in finance and provides a product that's powered by AI, designed specifically for lenders.  ![smecapital-blog-title-sm-May-21-2024-01-30-12-7492-PM](https://insights.smecapital.com/hs-fs/hubfs/smecapital-blog-title-sm-May-21-2024-01-30-12-7492-PM.png?width=680&name=smecapital-blog-title-sm-May-21-2024-01-30-12-7492-PM.png "smecapital-blog-title-sm-May-21-2024-01-30-12-7492-PM") **Designed for How Lenders Actually Work** In the alternative lending space, traditional lending processes have historically been slow, bureaucratic, and heavily reliant on collateral and extensive documentation. Fintech innovations have streamlined these processes, but even with Open Banking, it can create overwhelming volumes of messy, hard‑to‑interpret data. Navrisk, the AI‑native risk navigation platform, solves this problem by transforming raw bank data into clarity - revealing what truly drives business performance: cash flow health and management behaviour. Navrisk was was built by a team of great minds with deep experience in origination and portfolio management. The product was never intended to be “just another dashboard”. It focused on a core challenge: How do lenders really make decisions? The team behind it studied underwriting workflows, credit papers and portfolio reviews - then designed a platform that fits naturally into those processes rather than disrupting them. The result is a user experience where lenders can: - Move from submission to insight in minutes - Quickly understand cashflow behaviour and liquidity resilience - Interrogate risk without wading through raw data Every click, view and workflow is intentional. Designed to reduce friction and increase conviction. Navrisk Product Manager, Brandi Jess explains: "*We've taken AI and blended it with the knowledge within the (Navrisk) team to shape the product, so we don't blindly use AI results rather we have a very structured way of integrating that knowledge into our systems*." "*We aimed to understand the whole process, every challenge and then build an unrivalled user experience that immediately creates value*."  "*The exciting piece for me is working across multiple teams, from analysis, to credit, to product, especially as their are a lot of women in the team, it's quite rare to have so many, especially in the finance field, so it's quite powerful to have strong females involved in Navrisk.*"    **Respecting Judgement, Enhancing Confidence** A defining principle of Navrisk is its product philosophy that technology should support judgement, not override it. Navrisk has been designed to surface insights, patterns and anomalies - but always leave the final interpretation in the hands of experienced credit professionals. By structuring data clearly and consistently, Navrisk allows lenders to: That balance between automation and human expertise is central to why lenders trust the platform. Navrisk General Manager, Kate Kennedy, elaborates: "*We have removed the need for an SME to present itself in a way that mirrors large corporates, which is often what lenders traditionally expect when businesses apply for funding. We take that burden away from the **SME*." "*We focus on the underlying bank transaction data. Businesses can link their accounts through Open Banking or upload a PDF bank statement. **From that point, we do the hard work. We clean the data and present it in a format that supports lender underwriting."* *"This allows lenders to make decisions more quickly. In many cases that leads to a quick yes. Sometimes the answer is no, but that can still be the correct outcome if the data shows that the level of debt would not be appropriate for the business.*"   Navrisk's pioneering work is setting new industry standards, making risk management more timely, transparent, and scalable for modern financial institutions. If you would like to find out more information on Navrisk or would like to contact the team to book a DEMO, please visit: [https://www.navrisk.io/](https://www.navrisk.io/) About Navrisk [Navrisk](https://www.navrisk.io/) helps private credit firms stay ahead of risk with real-time insights, proven early warning indicators, and automated bank transaction monitoring. We ensure continuous access to up-to-date data, providing a unified view across bank accounts and complex company structures. Built by industry experts, Navrisk cuts through the noise to highlight only critical risks, enabling asset managers to act quickly, reduce exposure, and scale their portfolios with confidence. About SME Capital [SME Capital](https://www.smecapital.com/) was founded to support the growing number of SMEs who face difficulty or frustration in accessing capital through traditional methods. We understand the importance of real and trusted relationships in the SME lending market and have dedicated Regional Directors based across the UK. By combining traditional lending expertise with the latest in data analytics, we are supporting established UK SMEs with their long-term objectives and business ambitions. March 2026 **Share** Copy article link **Latest News & Insights** **Keep Updated** Everything you need to know about all things SME Capital straight to your inbox [**Sign up now** ](https://www.smecapital.com/sign-up)[![more](https://insights.smecapital.com/hubfs/SME%20Capital%20Images/sprite%20icons/more.svg)](https://www.smecapital.com/sign-up) [![London - SME Capital](https://insights.smecapital.com/hubfs/smecapital-blog-title-sm-Sep-09-2024-08-19-02-6732-PM.png "London - SME Capital")](https://insights.smecapital.com/sme-growth-plans-persist) [**SME Growth Plans Persist Despite Budget Challenges**](https://insights.smecapital.com/sme-growth-plans-persist) Many forward-looking business owners are revising their 2025/26 forecasts to account for the budget’s impact. Does this include growth? [![Mountains - SME Capital](https://insights.smecapital.com/hubfs/smecapital-blog-title-sm-Jun-20-2024-01-29-06-3779-PM.png "Mountains - SME Capital")](https://insights.smecapital.com/right-time-to-take-on-debt-capital) [**Is now the right time to raise Debt Capital?**](https://insights.smecapital.com/right-time-to-take-on-debt-capital) Now may be time to consider injecting capital into your growth plans. Looking for funding? Start today. Whether you are an eligible business or an intermediary advisor our regional directors are on hand to discuss your funding requirements and feasibility. [![](https://insights.smecapital.com/hubfs/2A5pddew.png) Get Started ](https://www.smecapital.com/looking-for-funding) ![](https://insights.smecapital.com/hubfs/SME%20Capital%20Images/smecapital-logo-inv.svg) [Contact us](https://www.smecapital.com/contact-us) [Looking for funding](https://www.smecapital.com/looking-for-funding) [FAQs](https://www.smecapital.com/faqs) [Log In](https://my.smecapital.com) [Terms of use](https://www.smecapital.com/terms-of-use) [Cookie policy](https://www.smecapital.com/cookie-policy) [Privacy policy](https://www.smecapital.com/privacy-policy) [Security](https://www.smecapital.com/security) [Risk Warnings](https://www.smecapital.com/risk-warnings) Enquiries [0203 873 6983](tel:02038736983) [info@smecapital.com](mailto:info@smecapital.com) [![](https://insights.smecapital.com/hubfs/SME%20Capital%20Images/New%20Images/Odds/linkedin.svg)](https://www.linkedin.com/company/sme-capital-uk/) © 2022 SME Services & Holdings Limited. All rights reserved. SME Capital* is a Registered Trademark with the UK's Intellectual Property Office (UK00003110309). Any use or reproduction of our name and logo is subject to authorisation from the company