Tag: Growth

Singapore – Smart commerce platform SHOPLINE has announced its global expansion by establishing a headquarters in Singapore. The selection of Singapore as the new global headquarters for SHOPLINE was a unanimous decision among its senior leadership.

The company said that the expansion was strategically based on location and the connectivity of Singapore which makes it ideal for a global hub. Coupled with Singapore’s Government efforts in establishing a reliable and efficient infrastructure, as well as a conducive and pro-business environment.

In the coming months, SHOPLINE is expected to expand its global support and capabilities to bolster its existing 1600-strong R&D team by recruiting more diverse talent in Singapore. This aims to bump up the workforce in Singapore and bring the SHOPLINE solution to address broader e-Commerce verticals in the market, all while continuing to further collaborate with the Singapore Government to digitize the nation.

SHOPLINE’S goal is to build a successful partner ecosystem that merchants can leverage on, SHOPLINE has partnered with key global strategic partners including Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp), Tiktok and Google, and Payments and Fulfilments Partners including Paypal, Atome, Stripe, Ninja Van, HyperSKU and Kakaklo, in the bid to strengthen the platform capabilities of SHOPLINE to one that is truly seamless and omni-channel.

Joshua Qiao, general manager of SHOPLINE 2.0, said that the growing demands of business owners for a centralized e-Commerce system and the need to build their own database fueled SHOPLINE to innovate, differentiate and lead the digital disruption through their platform, unique positioning, deep understanding of what their merchants need and localization efforts.

“The future of e-commerce lies in SHOPLINE’s disruptive approach in offering a full-featured all-in-one retail solutions platform. In collaboration with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), SHOPLINE is humbled to be a pre-approved Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) vendor that enables merchants to enjoy up to 70% of subsidy from their annual subscription costs, sharing and contributing to the actualisation of the Singapore Government’s vision to digitalize the economy and create a smart nation,” Qiao said.

With an overwhelming response from Singaporean merchants and reputable businesses from a wide variety of industries, SHOPLINE is confident and geared for a successful official launch later this year.

Jakarta, Indonesia  –  Despite being hit hard by COVID-19 in 2021, Indonesian small businesses beat their Asian-Pacific rivals in business growth, in part because of their high e-commerce penetration, according to a report by  CPA Australia. The report notes that this growing trend is set to continue until this 2022.

TheAsia-Pacific Small Business Survey polled 4,252 small business owners or managers, including 301 from Indonesia, in 11 Asia-Pacific markets to understand business conditions and confidence. As a result of the pandemic, Indonesian small enterprises were the second most likely to be adversely impacted. Seventy-two per cent of Indonesian respondents named COVID-19 as the most damaging factor to their firm.

When asked about how they had coped with the pandemic, 45 per cent of respondents stated that they had transferred their business online. E-commerce is becoming increasingly important to businesses, with 68 per cent of respondents reporting more than 10 percent of their revenue coming from online sales in 2020. In 2021, 61 per cent of businesses plan to utilise social media to promote their products and services, up from 51 per cent in 2020.

In 2021, seven out of ten Indonesian businesses expect to see a rise in revenue, making the country the region’s business growth leader. When it comes to creating jobs, small enterprises outnumber the larger corporations. Respondents predicted that they will increase their workforce by 35 per cent in 2021.

Dr. Adi Budiarso, chairman of the CPA Australia Indonesia advisory committee at FCPA Australia and the director of the financial sector policy centre at Indonesia’s ministry of finance, said that 2021 was a very challenging year for small businesses in Indonesia because of the pandemic.

“Nonetheless, I am proud to see the resilience and agility of Indonesia’s small businesses. The survey findings not only show their skill in sustaining business operations but also growing through the use of e-commerce. Government assistance programs such as PEN program and Rumah BUMN no doubt assisted with this,” Dr. Budiarso said. 

Strong business forecasts for the year 2022 are a direct result of these competencies. Eighty-seven per cent of those questioned believe their companies will grow this year, making Indonesia one of the most upbeat markets studied. Since many want to hire more workers, this is the most common outcome of 51 per cent.

Indonesians are the second most likely to believe that they will require outside funding in 2022, with 91% of those polled believing this to be true or very likely. 60.8% will look for outside funding to help their firm develop. However, only a quarter of those polled believes that getting a loan will be simple or very simple in the future.

Dr. Budiarso emphasised, “Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are major contributors to our economy and employment. A friendly financing environment would enable them to keep expanding. According to the survey findings, banks are their primary source of finance. New rules issued by Bank Indonesia should encourage local banks to increase their lending to MSMEs from June this year.”