Amazon India-Capital First tie-up to offer loans to SMEs

Much on the lines of its competitors, e-commerce giant Amazon Seller Services on February 8 launched a seller lending programme in India, enabling small & medium businesses on its platform to get working capital loans ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 2 crore. Amazon has partnered with Capital First, a Mumbai-based Non-banking Financial Company (NBFC), for the lending programme.

In 2015, Flipkart launched a similar programme and tied up with five financial institutions, including Axis Bank and Bajaj Finserv. Snapdeal has partnered with SBI and Paytm has partnered with Lendingkart, to offer collateral free business loans to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and sellers in less than 3 working days.

Talking about the Program, Gopal Pillai, Director & GM, Seller Services, Amazon India said, “Through our engagement with sellers, we realized that as small businesses mature, lack of funding can hinder growth and impact the SMEs ability to expand at a rate that matches their ambition and potential. With the Lending Program for sellers, we help them overcome the barrier of access to capital and enable them to scale their business on Amazon.in.”

Currently, loans are offered on an invite-only basis for marketplace sellers who qualify against various criteria. The company has been taking initiative to help sellers grow and scale internationally through its Global Selling Program.

Source: The Financial Express