Finaxar Việt Nam, Indovina Bank and Cathay Financial Holdings on Thursday announced a partnership to improve access to financing for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Việt Nam. — Photo Finaxar

Finaxar Viet Nam, Indovina Bank and Cathay Financial Holdings on Thursday announced a partnership to improve access to financing for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Viet Nam.

The partnership will provide working capital for SMEs that are growing fast in the region. SMEs comprise 96-98 per cent of enterprises operating in Viet Nam, but up to 60 per cent are still unable to access credit to fuel their growth.

“In our experience, small businesses in Viet Nam face random demand fluctuations which require them to possess some form of capital flexibility. This is where the Finaxar Credit Line (FCL) comes in. FCL is part of Finaxar’s reinvention of traditional business financing to accommodate and support the growth of SMEs in the 21st century,” said Finaxar co-founder Vihang Patel.

FCL is a first-in-region, completely online, automated credit financing solution specifically tailored for Viet Nam’s SMEs.

Business owners can now access funds of up to VND500 million (US$22,000) through FCL easily online. In contrast to traditional financing, FCL uses a simple model, charging a single percentage fee upfront on the loan amount, with no hidden or processing charges. In-principle credit approval can be granted within 30 minutes of an online application.

“Our mission is to bring a full suite of innovative products into the market to reinvent how business finance for small businesses is done and to address the pain point of access to financing for SMEs,” said Finaxar’s co-founder Dr. Sian Wee Tan.

Specifically designed to work around such difficulties in accessing credit, FCL does not require business owners to provide any collateral and gives business owners flexibility in their repayment schedules. FCL allows owners to grow their businesses in various ways, including procuring inventory and boosting general business expansion.

“We care about Viet Nam’s people and how SMEs are being financed for business growth,” said Marcus Lopez, Executive Vice President and Head of Digital, Data and Technology at Cathay Financial Holdings, investor to both IVB and Finaxar.

“With 214 offshore office worldwide as well as intensive footprints in Asia-Pacific markets, we are open to all possibilities to collaborate creating even more exciting business benefits to this region,” said Lopez.

Finaxar, headquartered in Singapore and operating in Viet Nam and Hong Kong, is a technology company that provides innovative, data-driven financing solutions tailored to SMEs in Southeast Asia.

In 2018, Lazada, the number one e-commerce platform owned under Alibaba Group Holding Limited, partnered with Finaxar to provide working capital financing to its sellers. — VNS