The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) was established with the ambitious vision of making Canada the best place in the world to start a business. To fulfill this mission, BDC embarked on a transformative journey to modernize its core operations and enhance its support for entrepreneurs. This initiative was not just about technological upgrades but a complete reimagining of how the bank operates, develops applications, and serves its customers.

Embracing Change Amidst Adversity

BDC, a unique Canadian financial institution dedicated solely to entrepreneurs, faced a significant challenge. The bank needed to overcome years of sluggish progress in digital transformation. Despite heavy investments, their previous efforts yielded minimal results. However, instead of succumbing to these setbacks, BDC turned adversity into opportunity by adopting a fresh approach and a new set of tools, which ultimately revolutionized the organization.

The central story at BDC is about how a critical application saw a successful launch, breaking through a longstanding obstacle that had previously drained resources without delivering tangible outcomes. But the more compelling aspect of this narrative is how a determined new strategy, combined with innovative tools, fostered a new culture within the bank. This cultural shift empowered BDC to enhance its products and services, thereby better supporting its clients’ missions as well as its own.

A Singular Mission

BDC stands out as the only Canadian bank dedicated exclusively to entrepreneurs. It provides financing and advisory services, both online and in-person, to help Canadian businesses grow and thrive. Due to its specialized clientele, BDC must offer equally specialized services, tailored to the unique needs of entrepreneurs.

Sujatha Venkataraman, a business analyst with 16 years of experience at BDC, highlights the bank’s commitment: “Unlike other commercial organizations, BDC has a government mandate to fulfill. BDC always puts its heart and soul into helping entrepreneurs.” This dedication is echoed by Richard Bakker, a Mendix developer at the bank, who says, “Helping people in Canada and supporting entrepreneurs is truly rewarding. It gives you goosebumps sometimes.”

Established by the Canadian Parliament in 1944 as the Industrial Development Bank, BDC now:

• Serves over 60,000 clients
• Operates 123 business centers and maintains a robust online presence
• Manages $35 billion in capital to support small and medium-sized enterprises

Given its vast clientele and substantial assets, BDC operates at a brisk pace and must be agile enough to adapt to constant changes.

Rethinking Development

BDC’s transformation began with the recognition that previous attempts to build a lending application had failed to meet expectations and were too slow to keep up with business demands. Traditional development methods were cumbersome and ill-suited for creating a digital gateway that clients could use to apply for loans quickly and easily. The goal remained simple: streamline the loan application process to make it faster and more user-friendly.

Complicating this endeavor was the need for the new loan application to integrate seamlessly with various internal and external systems. “Our Canadian businesses need support,” notes Karim Mohsen, product owner of the Core Lending System Modernization project. “We’re in a global market, and part of the bank’s mandate is not only to lend money but also to help businesses improve through advisory services.”

To tackle these challenges, BDC adopted an Agile methodology, promoting teamwork and rapid development. This represented a cultural shift within the bank, fostering inclusivity and collaboration across IT and business units. The result was a more efficient and responsive development process, welcomed by both staff and customers.

Selecting the Right Tools

BDC needed tools that would support its new Agile approach and allow for seamless integration with other systems. The bank chose the Mendix low-code development platform, which met their requirements by:

• Supporting Agile workflows
• Facilitating easy integration with internal and external applications

Herman Geldenhuys, a Mendix technical expert, explains, “The biggest transformational impact that Mendix allows within BDC is to match the language of business, eliminating the need to focus on technology. Instead, we focus on speaking the same language as our business partners.”

A Successful Partnership

With the Mendix platform in place, BDC embarked on rapid development cycles, demoing their initial efforts to business partners within four weeks. Over the next eight months, the bank rolled out eight major system releases, integrating new functionality with existing applications. This swift progress demonstrated the effectiveness of their new approach.

“Once we started with Mendix in November 2012, we had something in production by June of the following year,” says Mohsen. “It went pretty fast.” This rapid development was crucial for supporting BDC’s clients, mostly small and medium businesses, who needed quick access to funds and services to achieve their goals.

Core Lending Integrated Component System

Today, BDC’s Core Lending Integrated Component System (CLICS) includes multiple applications that integrate with the main Core Lending System. These applications include:

• A CRM system built on Microsoft Dynamics
• A client file system based on Microsoft SharePoint
• Connections to external applications like FICO Blaze Advisor

Richard Bakker notes, “From a technical perspective, there are a lot of integration points, and they continue to grow.” The integration of numerous systems and data flows has significantly improved processing times and efficiency.

Impressive Results

The collaboration between BDC and Mendix yielded remarkable results:

• Development time for the Core Lending System was reduced from an anticipated 30 months to just eight months.
• The size of the development team needed to launch the CLS app was a third of that required for previous efforts.
• Consolidating systems for legal documentation and approvals reduced processing times from 25 minutes to 5 minutes across tens of thousands of loans per year.
• Loan processing times were cut to 20-30 minutes, with some loans being disbursed the same day a consultant spoke to a business owner.

These improvements not only streamlined BDC’s operations but also enhanced customer satisfaction by providing faster and more efficient services.

Looking Ahead

BDC continues to build on its success with Mendix, developing new applications to further support Canadian entrepreneurs. The latest project allows entrepreneurs to benchmark their productivity against competitors, helping them improve their business operations. “Mendix made it simple to develop rapidly. Ideas now move quickly from inception to fruition,” says Dan Covaliu, a developer at BDC.

The emphasis on collaboration and teamwork remains strong. “We’re a good team, and we discuss daily how we can improve the software,” notes Edy Millien, a Mendix developer. Reflecting on the pre-Agile past, Scrum Master Alice Goret adds, “Without a team, you need other people to challenge you and help you do your best.”

A Bold Move Yields Strong Performance

BDC’s decision to reevaluate its processes and adopt new tools like Mendix has paid off significantly. By modernizing their development approach and fostering a collaborative culture, BDC has better equipped itself to fulfill its mandate of supporting Canadian businesses. The bank’s staff is more engaged, and its ability to introduce new products is more efficient and effective.

“Our vision is clear,” says Geldenhuys. “We use that as a guideline to decide where value is being added.” With Mendix, BDC continues to streamline processes, making things simpler and more accessible for customers. This digital transformation ensures that BDC will continue to support Canadian entrepreneurs for years to come, helping them achieve their goals faster and more effectively.

Photo by Samson (unsplash.com)