Description
AREA42 task description
Task title: Polish SME Credit Risk & Insurance Market Research
PO number:4500024125
Location:
Brussels
Remote location possible (this over-rules the stipulation in the Framework contract that “The Freelancer undertakes to provide the Services at the premises of the Customer …”)
Task objectives:
Recruit a partner to conduct 15 exhaustive interviews with Polish SMEs to gather first-party data on:
(1) Credit risk and insurance product education (awareness, sentiment, opportunities).
(2) Customer Value Proposition (CVP) insights (positioning, targeting, channel strategy).
(3) Digital product feature design and customer journey optimization.
(4) Adoption and Pricing threshold validation.
Task deliverables & milestones:
- 15 completed interviews in a pre-agreed digital format (e.g., PowerPoint/Excel), including:
- Company name, NACE code, interviewee name/role.Insights addressing points 1–4 above.
- Digital presentation summarizing findings in a pre-agreed framework format. (*see Research instruments)
- Deadline: due by 4th week of June 2025.
Target SME Criteria
- Turnover: €2M–€10M/year.
- Operational history: Minimum 2 years.
- Focus on SMEs without corporate structure and possibly with invoices over 25k EUR (for the purpose of final product that will be targeted at total turnover or invoices over 25k EUR)
- Industry distribution:
Max 3 companies per industry.
Max 40% (6 companies) in services-only sectors.
Research Instruments
A framework to organise captured insights
- Awareness and perceptions of credit/invoice/supplier insurance
- What are their Current credit/invoice/supplier risk management practices
- Understanding and appeal of solution
- Barriers to adoption
- Thresholds for risk acceptance
- Thresholds for spend
- Digital / Assistance Service levels expected
- Broker relationship and role
- Open-ended qualitative questions for deeper insights
Other questions
Interest to beta test, receive info, further participation on research
Partner Responsibilities
- Conduct interviews (virtual/in-person) with SME decision maker.
- Adhere to agreed questioning framework*
- Submit raw data + analysis in specified framework format*.
- SPOC: Afonso RS
Exclusions
No additional work beyond interview execution/data delivery.
Timeline
Kickoff: Immediate upon agreement.
Interviews: Completed by end of June 2025.
Final delivery: Q2 2025.
Success Metrics
100% interview completion (15/15).
Data according the agreed framework
Optional (nice to have but in no way expected)
● Beta tester interest from 2 interviewees.
Due Diligence
Under NDA.
SOW approved
Salary range:
500€/day
Job subject to contract via proUnity (AREA42 procurement platform), with monthly timesheets and invoicing
Invoices should be CC to invoices@area42.tech
Work hours, travel requirements, etc.:
Work up to 7 days for this SoW. As a freelancer, you are free to choose when you wish to work with AREA42 or to take holidays.
Travels to support the development of the SoW are not required.
For administrative simplicity all travel assignments are arranged by AREA42 and also the costs are carried directly by AREA42.
Company description: AREA42
AREA42 vision:
We work in a smooth B2B trade environment empowered by new technologies
At AREA42, we create, innovate, and manage solutions for a fluid, risk-savvy trade environment. We support companies who want to recode trade for the digital era.
Together with disruptors, technologists and visionaries, we build a more fertile trade environment. We co-design ambitious visions. We experiment and launch new solutions. We turn innovations into new growth engines.
We are backed by Credendo, the Export Credit Agency from Belgium and the most trusted leader in trade credit insurance and surety bonds.
AREA42 Focus:
Our current investment thesis revolves around big untapped opportunities related to:
· Platforms and marketplaces,
· SMEs and freelancers,
· Innovative credit data and machine learning,
· Blockchain and other new trade paradigms.
For us, success can be measured in the upgrades we offer to trade ecosystems. We do not see technology as an objective in itself, but we believe it is key to unlock radical improvements for trade and accompanying risk. We take inspiration from diverse universes. We try to hack things, fail sometimes, learn always, and thrive when we co-innovate with partners who share our passion.
AREA42 Structure:
AREA42 is an ecosystem with 2 highly complementary zones: AREA42 innovation lab and AREA42 accelerator. Each zone contributes to a successful AREA42 innovation ecosystem.
· Our innovation lab aims at growing a high-quality network of trusted partners, open to co-innovation and passionate about upgrading trade; it takes a lean start-up approach to experiment with new ideas and incubate them to become validated product concepts with a market fit. The learnings, successes and failures contribute to the feedback-loop and are shared with our network.
· Our accelerator works like a growth factory. We take validated product concepts and turn them into new lines of business. Our accelerator team works with the same powerful means as the best high-growth start-ups in order to scale the most ambitious ventures in trade.
Our first basecamp is Brussels, but our playground is Europe and the world.
AREA42 Culture:
We are a diverse team based on 3 important values: respect, curiosity, and boldness. We believe in mutual trust, entrepreneurship, collective creativity, technological excellence and solid execution. For us, these values are essential to creating high-impact innovations, which we need to deliver successful long-term growth, which will help spread an innovation culture in trade.
Often, we do not know exactly what we are building. However, we always start with an exciting vision and we iterate as fast as possible to confront it with reality. We have faith in the science of experimentation and in the lean start-up approach. We invite and welcome innovators of all kinds to contribute and to have an impact. We share together the benefits of our successes.
