Startup Spotlight: UAE-Based CrossVal Is Helping Organizations Save Over 120 Working Hours Per Month By Automating Major FInancial Processes "We are proud to state that we completed an enterprise proof of concept that saved a finance team 624 hours and $10,000 monthly by implementing an automated workflow with CrossVal."

This article is part of an ongoing series covering startups that have been a part of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF) accelerator program.

"Imagine if finance teams could spend less time stuck in low-impact tasks, and more on making strategic decisions!" With this singular statement, CrossVal founder and CEO Ajinkya Tanpure makes a compelling case for his UAE-based enterprise, which offers a software as a service (SaaS) platform that automates financial planning and analysis for companies. "The thing is, as much as 70% of finance team hours are lost on low-value spreadsheet tasks, with most companies in the region facing the same challenge," Tanpure explains. "I myself was actually one of the individuals carrying out these low-value spreadsheet tasks, and the realization that I can solve the problem for myself and many others is what inspired me to take on this entrepreneurial journey. At Crossval, we thus save chief financial officers (CFOs) and finance teams over 120 hours a month, empowering them to operate as decision makers, as opposed to record keepers."

Launched in 2021, Crossval is based out of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), and it aims to replace time consuming, manual, and error-prone spreadsheet work with easy financial modeling options. Using its platform, finance teams can quickly identify discrepancies between budgeted figures and actual results, and thus spend less time reconciling accounting numbers, and instead allocate their efforts towards gaining valuable business insights using the data they obtain. The startup also offers artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools that can simplify and quicken the process of financial reporting, compile the latest information about investors, and also draft presentation slides for any potential pitch decks. Finally, Crossval also provides fractional CFO tools, wherein businesses can leverage the expertise of a team of seasoned CFOs that can deliver tailored solutions for a given business' unique challenges, but without having to allocate a full-time CFO's remuneration. "Our primary focus is on the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that generate anywhere between US$100,000-$10 million in annual revenue, and have finance teams of two to 10 people, which form the backbone of the UAE economy," Tanpure adds. "However, our platform is also used by a few select large enterprises that generate more than $10 million in revenue and comprise finance teams of 10+ people."

So far, Crossval's comprehensive business model has ensured that the enterprise is off to a good start. "We have already signed Cafu and Unifonic as paying users of our product, and these two companies are currently our flagship clients in the UAE and KSA respectively," Tanpure shares. "CrossVal has also been recognized by Deloitte as one of the top 50 fastest growing startups in the region. We are also proud to state that we completed an enterprise proof of concept that saved a finance team 624 hours and $10,000 monthly by implementing an automated workflow with CrossVal. Additionally, we've currently got a sales pipeline that's filling up fast with companies like Zurich Insurance, Samsung Gulf, Hilti Engineering, CityMax Hotels, and more. In December 2022, we closed a pre-seed funding round of $250,000, and although our current annual recurring revenue (ARR) is at $120,000, our forecast for this year, as we unlock enterprise contracts, is an ARR of $1 million!"

All of these achievements, of course, have played a role in CrossVal clinching a place in the ongoing cohort of the MBRIF Innovation Accelerator. But Tanpure's association with the program goes back much further. "I've actually been a part of the MBRIF program as a mentor in the past, and I have always valued the hyper-tailored, supportive and resource-rich framework," he reveals. "The benefits of the network and hands-on support made it an attractive choice for CrossVal as we build the future of finance for the Middle East." Having the MBRIF's support has been vital in Tanpure's journey in navigating the UAE's business landscape, the founder adds. "We've been very lucky to have support from the ecosystem in the form of partnerships, investors, and—most importantly as a founder—good founders and peers to learn and grow with," he continues. "Setting up in the DIFC Innovation Hub has also enabled a lot of our success, but in addition to that, the general startup ecosystem has been great too! Of course, we've had a few challenges: finding the right tech talent (quickly!), operational costs could be lower, and raising capital could be simpler. But these continue to move in a positive trend as we mature."

As he and his team at Crossval now look to the future, Tanpure says that the startup will aim to continue to leverage technological innovation, while keeping human connection at the heart of it all. "Although humans are great at what we do based on our intellect, emotion and drive are things AI can't do (yet)!" he continues. "That's how we see our product too. It automates the boring stuff so that finance teams have more time and energy to strategize and think creatively. All our touchpoints with end users are 100% human; in fact, that's how we learn from our users, and build according to their needs. We've done this from day zero of the company, and we are obsessed with maintaining this as we scale. We're building the future of finance for the Middle East, and the way to do that is to lead with a customer-centric approach that's supported and enabled by tech."

Related: Startup Spotlight: US-Headquartered BigDot Enters the UAE Market with a Promise to Digitally Empower SMEs