By Traydstream | August 2026
Global trade exceeded US$35 trillion in 2025, yet a US$2.5 trillion trade finance gap remains. The Traydstream-NeoVentures relationship shows how co-creation can turn operational insight into scalable banking tools.
Global trade is growing faster than many of the processes that support it. Preliminary figures from UN Trade and Development put the value of global trade above US$35 trillion in 2025, an increase of about 7% in a single year. The World Trade Organization estimates that 80% to 90% of world trade relies on trade finance in some form.
Access has not kept pace with that demand. The Asian Development Bank estimates that the global trade finance gap remained at US$2.5 trillion in 2025, equivalent to roughly 10% of global trade. Adding capital is essential, but capital alone cannot solve the problem. Banks also need reliable data, efficient controls and a practical way to move suitable assets to institutions with matching appetite.
The opportunity in three numbers
US$35tn+ Estimated value of global trade in 2025, following growth of approximately 7%.
80-90% Share of world trade that relies on trade finance, credit or insurance and guarantees.
US$2.5tn Estimated unmet demand for trade finance in 2025, or around 10% of global trade.
The real challenge is execution
Trade finance technology is rarely held back by a shortage of ideas. The harder problem is turning an idea into a workflow that a bank can operate, govern and scale. A solution must handle documents, credit, compliance, fraud risk, integration and cross-border communication without weakening accountability.
This is where promising pilots often lose momentum. A demonstration may prove that a task can be automated, but a bank deployment must answer a longer list of questions: Who owns an exception? Which evidence supports an approval? How does data enter and leave the platform? What happens when a document changes? How will the bank measure value after launch?
What co-creation changes
Co-creation brings those questions into product development from the start. The bank or venture partner contributes operating knowledge and market context; the technology company contributes product design, automation and implementation expertise. Both sides remain accountable for a defined business outcome.
1. Start with the operating constraint: Define the delay, risk, capacity limit or client problem that needs to change before discussing features.
2. Design the controls with the workflow: Build ownership, permissions, audit evidence and exception handling into the product rather than adding them after development.
3. Measure the result: Agree practical indicators such as turnaround time, manual effort, adoption, assets distributed or new client capacity.
"We are delighted to welcome NeoVentures as an investor and strategic partner. Our work together on TraydFund demonstrated the value of combining Traydstream's technology with NeoVentures' commercial and venture-building expertise.
This investment gives us a strong platform to scale internationally and deliver practical solutions that simplify trade, reduce operational complexity and create greater value for banks and businesses."
Sameer Sehgal, Chief Executive Officer, Traydstream
TraydFund:from balance-sheet constraint to financing capacity
TraydFund provides a practical example. It is a trade asset sell-down solution co-created by Traydstream and NeoVentures. Sell-down allows an originating bank to share part of a trade exposure with another financial institution, subject to its own risk, legal and regulatory framework. The originator can manage concentration or portfolio limits, while the participant gains access to an asset that fits its appetite.
Consider a simplified example. A bank originates a US$10 million trade asset but wants to retain US$6 million of the exposure. If it can place the remaining US$4 million with a suitable participant, it can reduce concentration and create room for additional client business. The client relationship can remain with the originating bank; the exposure is redistributed under agreed terms.
The difficulty is rarely the principle. It is the coordination required to identify the asset, prepare consistent information, find relevant participants, manage access, compare responses and record approvals. TraydFund brings those activities into a controlled workflow and can draw on structured transaction data produced elsewhere in the Traydstream platform.
"TraydFund started with a simple operating question: how can a bank turn a suitable trade asset into usable capacity without adding another layer of manual coordination? By connecting checked transaction data with a controlled sell-down workflow, we can help institutions move faster while retaining oversight of every decision."David Frye, Managing Director and Business Head - TraydAccess, Traydstream
Why corporate customers should care
Asset distribution may sit between financial institutions, but its impact reaches corporate customers. When a bank can manage exposure efficiently, it may be better placed to issue another letter of credit, fund another receivable or support a client entering a new market. Faster distribution can therefore translate into more financing capacity at the point where a business needs it.
This link matters when the trade finance gap is measured in trillions of dollars. Closing that gap will require more risk appetite, but also better use of the capacity already present in the banking system. Digital distribution helps make that capacity visible and easier to mobilise.
Where NeoVentures and Mashreq add value
NeoVentures is the corporate venture capital fund and venture studio of Mashreq. Its role combines investment and venture-building expertise with the context of a banking ecosystem: how institutions assess technology, govern change, manage risk and build a commercial case. Mashreq provides relevant institutional context, while the investment and product relationship are led by NeoVentures and Traydstream.
That distinction is important. The partnership is not based on capital followed by a search for a use case. It developed from work already completed together on TraydFund. The investment now supports market access and international growth, initially across the Middle East and Asia, as well as further opportunities across processing, funding and distribution.
"Trade finance is at an inflection point, and Traydstream has built one of the world's leading trade automation platforms, combining proven scale with differentiated AI capabilities.Our role extends beyond capital: we will work alongside the team to support commercial growth, strengthen market access and develop new opportunities across trade finance, funding and distribution."
Amith Rajan, Chief Executive Officer, NeoVentures
Why operating scale matters
A product becomes more useful as it encounters a wider range of documents, markets and bank workflows. Traydstream's operating footprint provides that learning base and helps new capabilities develop against real transaction patterns rather than a narrow test environment.
7m+ Trade transactions processed through the Traydstream platform.
US$350bn+ Aggregate trade volume processed across the platform.
20m+ pages Processed across more than 68 countries, reflecting the variety of documents and operating requirements involved in global trade.
Four outcomes banks should measure
1. Time to deployment: How quickly a use case moves from agreed design to a controlled production workflow.
2. Operational effort: The reduction in re-keying, manual checks, email coordination and exception chasing.
3. Financing capacity: The value and number of assets made available for funding or distribution, and the client business supported as a result.
4. Repeatability: Whether the workflow can be adopted across products, teams and markets without rebuilding the solution each time.
A partnership built around use
The strongest test of a strategic investment is what it enables after the announcement. TraydFund shows that Traydstream and NeoVentures can define an industry problem, build around bank requirements and connect technology to a commercial outcome.
The next phase is about scale: bringing that approach to more institutions, connecting trade processing with funding and distribution, and measuring progress in capacity released, decisions accelerated and client business supported. That is how co-creation moves from an innovation method to an engine for practical growth.
Sources and data notes
1. UN Trade and Development, Global Trade Update, December 2025. View source
2. World Trade Organization, Trade finance overview. View source
3. Asian Development Bank, Global Trade Finance Gap Survey update, 15 January 2026. View source
4. Traydstream company operating data, July 2026.
