Moula, a lending platform for small businesses, has announced the appointment of former managing director of accounting software company Xero, Chris Ridd, to its board.

An Australian-owned and operated platform, Moula enables businesses to grow by providing loans that are approved via a short online application process.

“Having somebody of Chris’ calibre on the board, with his track record of building exceptional businesses, is a tremendous boon to Moula,” said Moula CEO and co-founder, Aris Allegos.

“He has a genuine talent and a passion for this space. He ‘gets’ small businesses and the challenges they face and is a huge advocate for what Moula is trying to achieve — to help Australian small to medium enterprises (SMEs) grow via a simple loan application that is fast, affordable and responsible.”

Over the past twelve months, Moula has aligned itself with partners such as Liberty and Xero to deliver its unique lending solution to Australian SMEs.

“Over the course of my five years at Xero Australia, I saw a marked shift in the way SMEs use online data to streamline business process and drive growth,” said Ridd.

“There is an opportunity to help support the continued success of small businesses. Lending based on the strength of accounting data is a unique point of differentiation in the market, and one that is the way of the future for finance-as-a-service,” he added.

Ridd joins the board of five executives, including Moula co-founders Aris Allegos and Andrew Watt, Sherman Ma, managing director of Liberty Financial and tech entrepreneur Nathan Cher.