CreditEnable, a UK fintech specialising in credit solutions for the SME sector and the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), the world’s largest SME association will sign an exclusive partnership agreement in Mumbai today, kickstarting a national campaign for access to affordable finance.
The CreditEnable/CAIT partnership is designed to move the £250bn that CAIT members currently take out from the informal sector at interest rates of 30 to 40%, into the formal lending sector, resulting in an overall annual savings on interest costs alone of close to £38bn for existing borrowers as well as provide substantial opportunities for new borrowers to access affordable finance in a timely manner.
The programme will leverage CreditEnable’s expertise in credit assessment and technology and its extensive network of banking partners, and CAIT’s extensive organised SME ecosystem which includes 40,000 SME trade associations, to help CAIT’s 70m members secure affordable debt.
The first phase of the Changemakers campaign will involve appointing 1000 influential leaders from within the CAIT organisation and embedding dedicated staff within 24,450 CAIT trade associations across 14 states in India to kick-start the programme on a national basis.
CAIT members joining the CreditEnable changemakers programme will be trained to assist their fellow SMEs to understand the loan process and help them to secure credit at competitive and affordable rates through CreditEnable’s technology-enabled marketplace which currently matches SME borrowers to lenders in India.
The global market for SME credit stands at is £6.1trn, and the global SME credit gap is estimated £3.4trn. India is the first stage for CreditEnable, whose ambitions are global.
CreditEnable CEO, Nadia Sood said, “Our mission is to help SMEs everywhere avail of affordable finance so they can live out their full potential. Indian SMEs are arguably the largest potential business growth area globally and are restricted only by the lack of affordable finance. Currently the vast majority of Indian SMEs are forced to secure financing from the informal market at rates that often exceed 30 to 40%.
“We are delighted to be working with CAIT, the world’s largest SME association, to identify and train CreditEnable Changemakers who can help unlock the vast potential of the SME segment.
“The aim of Changemakers Programme is to ensure that Indian SMEs can access billions in available funding that is available, but not accessible. Technology is a great enabler, but we need to build a bridge between lenders and borrowers which allows them to understand and trust each other. That is what CreditEnable is all about and the Changemakers programme is a clear example of how we are executing on our values and our vision”.
CAIT secretary general, Praveen Khandelwal said, “The Confederation of All India Traders is entirely committed to making the lives of Indian traders across India better. Traders form the backbone of the Indian economy.
“They provide every product that is consumed in the county from agricultural produce, to materials for construction, to durable goods. The need for their services and their empowerment is only going to increase. India is one of the world’s fastest growing economies and it is entirely dependent on that SME population for that growth.
“SMEs have a right to affordable finance. Our partnership with CreditEnable is going to be instrumental to making this access possible. We are delighted to be launching this important initiative with them at such a large scale and on a pan-India basis.”
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