BFS Capital Launches Canadian Tech Hub

Small business lender BFS Capital is making an expansion push with the creation of a new data science and engineering hub in Toronto. BFS, which serves customers in a trifecta of jurisdictions that in addition to Canada includes the U.S. and the UK, has undergone a technological transformation that includes building out a tech team for the next generation of the firm’s products.

BFS Capital CEO Mark Ruddock took some time to discuss the Toronto expansion with deBanked.

“We have an ambitious roadmap and plan to innovate quickly,” said Ruddock, “As a result, we had to ask ourselves, where could we best do this? We looked at cities across North America with strong tech and data science talent, and which were millennial friendly. We were frankly quite surprised by Toronto. Something fundamental is happening in Toronto – it’s fast becoming a leading city for data science, AI, and mobile app development in North America.”

Indeed, deBanked hosted its inaugural Canadian event in Toronto this past July after keeping an eye on its burgeoning fintech scene there for years.

“We are seeing a fundamental transformation happening in our customer base, from a less digitally savvy generation of entrepreneurs willing to accept the traditional financial products to a demanding, digital first generation, seeking new financial solutions,” said Ruddock, pointing to a two-pronged approach of real-time algorithmic decisioning and a mobile-first user design. “The intersection of those two things is the tipping point for small business financial services for the next while,” he added.

BFS Capital is finding that the younger generation is well equipped with technological skillsets, noted Ruddock, pointing to the Universty of Toronto and University of Waterloo as two of the best schools in North America for tech talent.