AI-driven platform simplifying SME financing through automation and behavioural analytics
AW
CapAxe is an AI-driven financial matchmaking platform designed to simplify SME financing. By leveraging AI-powered automation and behavioural analytics, it streamlines loan applications and enhances decision-making. Through a user-centred approach and Lean UX methodology, CapAxe delivers an intuitive experience that empowers businesses and financial institutions alike.
Project Type
UX/UI, Brand expansion
AW
AI-Driven Financial Matchmaking
Securing financing remains a major challenge for SMEs, as traditional lending systems are often slow, rigid, and reliant on outdated risk assessment models. Many businesses face long approval times, unclear loan terms, and limited access to suitable financial partners, restricting their growth.
CapAxe leverages AI to pair SMEs with the right lenders, streamlining the approval process and improving access to tailored funding solutions. By integrating advanced data analytics and automation, the platform matches businesses with financing options that fit their needs, reducing friction and making the lending experience faster, smarter, and more efficient.
Design Approach
The design process followed a Lean UX methodology, ensuring a user-centred, iterative approach:
Research & Discovery – Conducted primary and secondary research to identify pain points in SME financing and gather insights from industry professionals.
Ideation & Prototyping – Developed wireframes, mental models, and AI-driven financial matchmaking algorithms to optimise the user journey.
Usability Testing & Validation – Performed task-based usability tests to refine interactions and improve accessibility.
Visual Design & Implementation – Created a clean, intuitive design system that enhances trust and clarity, making financial processes transparent and user-friendly.
User Personas
CapAxe’s personas were crafted through user research and industry insights, ensuring the platform serves both SMEs and lenders effectively.
Alex Chen, a startup founder, represents entrepreneurs needing fast, transparent financing, while Jason Horniman, a senior loan officer, highlights the lender’s need for efficiency, risk management, and compliance. These personas shaped the UX, ensuring a seamless funding experience tailored to real challenges.
Design decisions prioritised clarity and automation. AI-driven lender matching, a streamlined onboarding flow, and real-time loan tracking enhance accessibility for borrowers, while automated risk assessments and customisable lending frameworks support financial professionals.
Lean UX Canvas
The Lean UX Canvas helped define CapAxe’s user experience by addressing manual lending inefficiencies, lack of funding transparency, and fragmented loan applications. These insights guided the development of AI-powered matchmaking, automated tracking, and risk assessment tools, creating a more efficient financing process.
The refined Lean UX Canvas introduced real-time updates, tailored funding selection, and improved user engagement. Validated through research and testing, these enhancements boosted loan approval rates and strengthened lender partnerships, making CapAxe a smarter, more transparent financing solution
Mental Model
The mental model for CapAxe structures the platform around user expectations and logical workflows, ensuring an intuitive experience. It organises key sections such as Home, Application Process, Submitted Applications, Company Profile, Financial Details, FAQs, Support, and Onboarding, aligning them with user needs.
Guided by Hick’s Law, the design limits options per category to enhance usability, while Miller’s Law ensures that users are not overwhelmed with excessive information. The Law of Prägnanz further refines the structure, making categories and subcategories immediately understandable.
CapAxe integrates machine learning, deep learning, and decision support systems (DSS) to enhance financial matchmaking. Machine learning and XG Boost analyse financial data for predictive insights, while MMS optimises AI performance.
DSS aggregates insights, recommending the best funding matches, while deep learning models assess financial risk and business viability. This AI-driven system streamlines loan approvals, automates risk assessments, and improves fund-matching precision, making financing faster and smarter.
Structured Sketches
The UX layout follows a logical, step-by-step flow, ensuring ease of navigation. The onboarding and profile setup screens capture key details efficiently, while a card-based fund selection layout allows intuitive comparisons.
The application process is streamlined with modular sections, reducing complexity and enhancing transparency. Risk assessment is subtly integrated for real-time insights, while the analytics dashboard delivers clear financial data. Every design decision prioritises usability, clarity, and efficiency, making CapAxe an intuitive fintech platform.
CapAxe’s structured framework streamlines navigation, guiding users from onboarding to funding with ease. The homepage provides key metrics like fund matching rate and financial health score for quick insights.
A linear application process simplifies submissions, while business profiles and financial details are intuitively organised. Accessible support resources ensure clarity, making CapAxe a seamless, user-friendly financing platform.
Cohesive Visual System
The UX layout follows a logical, step-by-step flow, ensuring ease of navigation. The onboarding and profile setup screens capture key details efficiently, while a card-based fund selection layout allows intuitive comparisons.
The application process is streamlined with modular sections, reducing complexity and enhancing transparency. Risk assessment is subtly integrated for real-time insights, while the analytics dashboard delivers clear financial data. Every design decision prioritises usability, clarity, and efficiency, making CapAxe an intuitive fintech platform.
Dashboard Navigation
By prioritising a hierarchical structure, key workflows—applications, financial profiles, and matched lenders—remain easily accessible, minimising cognitive load and decision fatigue.
The dashboard surfaces essential insights, while structured pathways ensure seamless navigation through financial processes. Every design choice is intentional, eliminating complexity and keeping users focused on their funding goals.
Hypotheses & Prioritisation
The Lean UX approach for CapAxe focused on hypotheses to improve funding accessibility and engagement. AI-powered lender matching and comprehensive lender profiles were tested through user research, ensuring solutions addressed real pain points.
A prioritisation framework guided development, emphasising business impact and user value. High-priority features like AI-driven matching, document management, and real-time tracking streamlined loan processing and enhanced engagement.
Aligning Business and User Needs
CapAxe’s UX leveraged behavioural economics and cognitive load management to simplify financial decision-making. AI-driven lender matching was designed not just for efficiency but to reduce decision fatigue, using progressive disclosure to present data incrementally.
For lenders, explainable AI (XAI) provided transparency in risk assessment, fostering trust in automation. Seamless API integrations ensured compatibility with existing banking systems, balancing automation with human oversight to create a scalable, high-trust fintech solution.
User Testing & Validation
CapAxe’s user testing confirmed the platform’s ability to streamline financial decision-making with AI-driven efficiency. A 100% task completion rate demonstrated that users could seamlessly navigate core workflows, while an 86% usability rating reinforced the platform’s intuitive design and ease of use.
Critically, 93% of users successfully matched with lenders, customised funding searches, and made informed decisions, validating our hypothesis-driven design approach. These insights solidified CapAxe’s market position, engagement strategy, and trust as a financial resource, ensuring a highly scalable and user-centric fintech experience.
User Testing & Validation
CapAxe’s landing page is designed for immediate trust and clarity, combining a modern aesthetic, bold typography, and fluid graphics to reinforce innovation. The hero section delivers concise, impactful messaging, emphasising its AI-driven funding solutions.
A three-step process streamlines onboarding, lender matching, and funding. The FAQ section proactively addresses concerns, while strategic CTAs ensure seamless conversion. Every design choice balances visual appeal with functional efficiency, positioning CapAxe as a trusted fintech leader.
