Tripartite partnership to transform SMEs financing

Finaxar Vietnam, Indovina Bank, and Cathay Financial Holdings today announced their partnership to improve access to financing for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

Finaxar, which is backed by Monk's Hill Ventures, 500 Startups, and Cathay Ventures, is a technology firm that offers customers top-notch, innovative, and data-driven financing solutions tailored to SMEs in the Southeast Asian region. The firm is headquartered in Singapore and operates in Vietnam and Hong Kong. In 2018, Lazada, the number one e-commerce platform owned by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. partnered up with Finaxar to provide working capital financing to its sellers. The firm also partnered with Visa to bring unique solutions to market to help all SMEs in the Asia-Pacific. By combining technology and security, and with the expert knowledge of the team, Finaxar is confident to serve small business owners with the required funding options with honesty, security, efficiency, and simplicity.

Indovina Bank, Cathay Holdings and Finaxar Announces Partnership to Transform SMEs Financing in Vietnam. Finaxar, which is backed by Monk's Hill Ventures, 500 Startups and Cathay Ventures, is a technology firm that offers customers top-notch, innovative and data-driven financing solutions tailored to SMEs in Southeast Asian region.

According to a public report, SMEs comprise 96-98 per cent of enterprises operating in Vietnam, but up to 60 per cent are still unable to access credit to fuel their growth. Therefore, the partnership with Indovina Bank and Cathay Financial Holdings is expected to provide working capital to SMEs that are growing fast in the region with easier, more streamlined access to credit online through Indovina Bank’s FCL credit line product powered by Finaxar.

“In our experience, small businesses in Vietnam face random demand fluctuations which require them to possess some form of capital flexibility. This is where the 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, an automated credit financing solution which is specially tailored for Vietnamese SMEs, would fuel the needs of mobile capitalising. Business owners can access funds of up to VND500 million ($21,740) through FCL within a click online. It is noted that FCL is also the first-in-region and completely online solution for SMEs.

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.

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

Specifically designed to work around 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.

Cathay Financial Holdings is the largest financial holding company in Taiwan and is a leading provider of financial products and services. The company’s primary subsidiaries include Cathay Life Insurance, Cathay United Bank, Cathay Century Insurance, Cathay Securities Investment Trust, and Cathay Securities.