As part of a new series looking at different treasury roles, Louise Tatham interviewed Ondrej Sehnal, Treasurer, Kiwi.com to discuss the unique challenges he faces as the company evolves from a small start up to a global business. From a treasury perspective this has meant moving from an accounts payable processing centre into a strategic and value adding function.
Kiwi.com is a travel tech company which focuses on air travel – think of it as the Uber of air travel. The company was the brainchild of the two founders, who had difficulty booking cheap flights when they were travelling. They found that building an itinerary made up of different airlines could bring better prices and route options, and that this would be great to provide as there was no one else offering such a service. Due to the innovative algorithm developed by Kiwi.com it can access unique and cheaper itineraries by combining different providers into unique packages. It’s a win-win – the customer gets more choice and access to the cheapest possible airfares out there.
Kiwi.com is headquartered in Czechia with offices in London, Barcelona, Bratislava and Miami. The company is majority owned by the global growth equity investor, General Atlantic. The company has ambitious growth plans and the treasury team plays an important role in supporting the group in executing its strategic plans - it’s a very exciting time to be working in treasury at kiwi.com!
The treasury team sits in the corporate finance section together with the tax and investor relations function. Its main functions are to protect the company’s cash, ensure there is sufficient liquidity to manage daily operations as well as medium to long term financing to support our ambitious growth targets and manage the financial risks of the business. As an ecommerce company operating globally and transacting in over 50 currencies we work with many banks, acquirers, partners, payment providers and gateways so automation, relationship management, resilience and working capital and FX risk management are key focus areas of the treasury team.
The department evolved from an accounts payable processing centre into a strategic and value adding function. This started when General Atlantic invested in the company and there was a greater focus on liquidity to fuel the operations and strategic growth.
As we have evolved from a small start up business to a global business the role of the treasury has also evolved which has required upskilling, designing and implementing new policies, procedures and controls.
As we chart our path towards an IPO, noteable treasury projects include securing a EUR 100m convertible bond financing in 2022 from a preeminent global institutional investor and refinancing EUR 40m working capital credit facility in 2023 with three global financial institutions. Attracting strong partners required improved accurate financial forecasting and increased investor relations activity to educate potential investors and banking partners on the strengths of the kiwi.com business model.
As a tech company processing millions of transactions per year technology is also at the heart of the treasury team and its activities. We implemented a new TMS to manage all treasury activities which included integrating into the SWIFT network as a first step which ensures greater stability and control over our cash management activities. The next phase is to embed the TMS into risk management processes.
Access to liquidity and increasing working capital is critical to support our 20%+ growth ambitions, so securing the EUR 100m investment from a blue chip institution as well as refinancing our working capital facility with three top quality banks are notable achievements that I am very proud of.
Continued focus on automation, improving working capital and implementation of new risk management policies as the business growth requires.
The treasury team is small (2-4 people) and the primary objective was:
1. Segregation between front and back office – this was key to ensuring the right qualified people were in the right roles
2. Effective communication both within the team and within the wider company to highlight why the changes were needed to support the wider company’s aspirations
3. Building appropriate reports/putting systems in place which others could then just adopt – ensuring consistency and increasing efficiency
It’s a great time to be working in a company that is going through such a rapid rate of development and growth. The treasury team has had to adapt quite rapidly to match these aspirations and to support the company’s objectives and goals. It’s an exciting journey to be on.
