Tag: SMEs

Bandung, Indonesia – Indonesia-based social commerce platform Evermos has announced its commitment to support the Government in accelerating the transformation of an inclusive and sustainable digital economy. 

Supported by a technology-based platform, Evermos has created an enabling ecosystem for SMEs, local brands, and end consumers through the presence of resellers beyond Tier 1 cities. By the spirit of Ekonomi Gotong Royong, which in English translates to Collaborative Economy, Evermos believes that an inclusive economy is more feasible to realize if supported by comprehensive and sustainable facilities, especially from the private sector, that are accessible for all segments of the society.

In line with the intergovernmental forum G20 Presidency that will be held in 2022 in Indonesia, Evermos reaffirms its commitment to the three areas, which are Digital Economy Transformation, Unemployment Rate Alleviation and Job Creation, and Women Empowerment in the Workplace and Communities. 

These points are manifested in Evermos’ daily products and services, through an Evermos application that connects resellers, SMEs, and local brands, with end consumers. In addition to the application, Evermos also provides various facilities, tools, and training for resellers and SMEs to foster their skills and knowledge hence it can be much easier for them to start or grow their businesses. 

During the press conference of Evermos’ brand new identity launch on 15 March 2022, Ghufron Mustaqim, Evermos’ co-founder and CEO, explained that the platform application has been working for further improvements and innovations to make sure that even more people can easily join as resellers; it is indirectly stated they actively participate in supporting the growth of SMEs and local brands. 

“We have been preparing certain innovations to ensure that the journey for people to become a reseller will be much easier and feasible for literally everybody, not only those who live in Tier 1 cities but also for all grassroots communities. Supported by humanist technology, nowadays everyone will have an equal opportunity to chase over a more prosperous life and be financially independent. This is what makes Evermos different and a lot more competitive compared to other social commerce,” he said.

Mustaqim further shared that SMEs and local brands are within Evermos’ ecosystem, hence they have the access to connect them to the network of resellers, which currently accounts for more than 500,000 resellers across Indonesia’s regions. 

“Supported by an inclusive ecosystem for resellers, SMEs, and consumers, we wish that it can enable us to support the government to wider job opportunities and further reduce the unemployment rate,” added Mustaqim.

Meanwhile, Sandiaga Uno, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, noted that he is thrilled to hear about Evermos’ passion and vision for the future of an inclusive digital economy. 

“I genuinely wish that Evermos will continue to further contribute to a more sustainable creative economy industry in Indonesia,” said Uno.

Indonesia – SMEs in Indonesia rely heavily on personal funds to launch their business, according to a report by SaaS cloud banking platform Mambu; but of those that don’t rely on friends and family, short-term loans are the most popular source of funding (46%), followed by business term loans (41%), and then startup loans (24%).

According to the report, of those that are trying to secure funding, it’s the application process that represents the biggest obstacle. SMEs in Indonesia identify the greatest barriers as an arduous application process (51%) and too much paperwork and admin (37%) before a lack of sufficient starting capital (31%). 

Such barriers have meant that in the last five years, 55% of SMEs in Indonesia have been unable to secure sufficient or any funding to cover the needs of the business on at least one occasion. The top three problems they face as a result include cash flow issues (37%), being unable to launch new products or services (37%), and struggling to pay back creditors (35%). 

Overall, 22% of SMEs in Indonesia say securing funding is easy, while 18% say they find it to be difficult. 

In Indonesia, the top three considerations when SMEs choose a lender are low-interest rates (95%), a short application process (93%) and long-term repayment plans (86%).

Meanwhile, when it comes specifically to the application process, Indonesian SMEs are most interested in faster loan decision processing (92%), low or no collateral requirements (90%) and more flexible loan conditions (89%).

Manila, Philippines – Enstack, an SME superapp, has launched in beta in the Philippines late in February, and after only two weeks, announces its strong entry in the market with over 10,000 merchants signing up on the platform. 

Enstack as an SME superapp provides entrepreneurs with all operational, logistical, and financial tools they need in a single platform. On Enstack, businesses can accept orders from customers over the phone, in person, and online via its Chat Store. With the Chat Store, merchants can automatically receive orders via their Facebook Messenger accounts, without replying to each message, and directly fulfil them using the Enstack app. 

SMEs can also offer customers multiple payment options and ship packages with integrated logistics providers directly from the app. Other management tools include sales and expenses recording, inventory management, and analytics. 

Behind Enstack is Oriente, which has provided Filipinos access to credit through their Shop Now, Pay Later services. With Enstack, it expands its focus on Southeast Asian SMEs. 

“After supporting the biggest merchants through our digital credit services, we now want to optimize the smallest of businesses so they can keep up with the rise in digital consumers. After seeing the swift growth and adoption of our free easy-to-use superapp, driven purely by word-of-mouth, we know we’ve created a game-changer with Enstack,” shared Geoffrey Prentice, co-founder of Oriente. 

“We’re glad to see our initial group of over 10,000 SMEs, led by merchants in food and beverage, feel empowered as they take their first step towards digitization so they can be more efficient, profitable, and thrive in today’s economy,” adds Prentice.

Enstack is available in the Philippines and Vietnam and is set to launch in other Southeast Asian countries in the next 18 months. It is free to download on the App Store and Google Play.

Hong Kong – The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has announced new enhancements to its SME Financing Guarantee Scheme, where the application period for the 80% Guarantee Product, the 90% Guarantee Product and the Special 100% Loan Guarantee will be extended to 30 June, 2023.

The maximum loan amount per enterprise under the Special 100% Loan Guarantee will be raised from the total amount of employee wages and rents for 18 months to that for 27 months, subject to a ceiling of HK$9m, originally HK$6m, and the maximum repayment period will be extended from eight years to ten years.

In addition, HKMC Insurance Limited (HKMCI) will also extend the principal moratorium arrangement under the SFGS by six months to a total of 30 months, and the application period for principal moratorium will be extended to end-December 2022.

“An option for borrowers to resume making partial principal repayment for one year will be provided, allowing borrowers to resume normal repayment gradually if they are willing and capable. Whether a borrower chooses the principal moratorium arrangement or the partial principal repayment option, the loan tenor and the guarantee period will generally be extended accordingly,” the authority said.

Singapore – Event SaaS company EventX has announced that it will be offering three months worth of free corporate trial to SMEs to host their events virtually amidst at rising COVID-19 challenges of hosting business events.

EventX’s virtual event platform strives to serve companies of all sizes to let them spot new business opportunities by enhancing audience reach, helping small and medium enterprises or even the startup community to strategically harvest leads through engaging and interactive events with its extensive expertise in event management. 

Through the trial, small enterprises can also explore potential business opportunities by using the EventX platform to conduct e-commerce livestreaming to attract online shoppers and expand their business on an international scale. EventX differs from other virtual event platforms in its interactive functions, such as clicking the raise hand button to ask questions, sending emojis, polling and more. 

Organisers can clearly capture the audience’s real-time reactions and respond to questions instantly. Enterprises can also make good use of the product showcase function to customise their own virtual product catalogues, which allows attendees to browse the top recommended products.

For Sum Wong, CEO of EventX, through understanding the urgent demand of SMEs for the need of capturing new business opportunities from the digital economy, they want to step up their efforts to relieve businesses’ operating pressures.

“We strive to be the pioneer in the industry to launch the initiatives and take an active part to tide over the hard time hand in hand with our community. SMEs can make best use of our virtual event platform to develop their business, discover potential customers and convert them into business opportunities, or even expand their overseas markets,” Wong said.

Hong Kong – On-demand delivery platform Lalamove in Hong Kong has launched a new series of initiatives this February, aimed at helping the community in fighting against the pandemic.

The initiatives include the ‘Support Our SMEs’ campaign, which was launched last 14 February 2022. It seeks to support more than 150 SMEs by providing them with exclusive promotion opportunities. 

With this initiative, Lalamove has been leveraging its own and other promotional platforms to help SMEs promote their exclusive offers. These SME partners span across a wide range of sectors such as F&B, catering, lifestyle products, sporting equipment, and electronic products, as well as apparel. 

Shing Chow, Lalamove’s founder and CEO, shared that they have been inspired by the many unsung heroes working diligently to serve the community amidst a challenging situation. 

“Our team at Lalamove has focused on leveraging our strength and strong network in the instant delivery landscape, to help non-profit organizations and SMEs affected by the pandemic moving things that matter on their behalf. We hope to extend our support to grassroots families so that we can overcome this adversity together,” said Chow.

Meanwhile, another initiative is free logistics support for non-profit organizations, which was launched last 18 February 2022. Through this, Lalamove has received more than 50 requests from NGOs for logistics support, delivering epidemic supplies such as rapid test kits, medical supplies, disinfectants, and masks, as well as food.

And lastly, the initiatives also include the donation of 10,000 rapid test kits to help grassroots families who are dealing with the pandemic. To date, Lalamove has donated 10,000 sets of rapid testing kits to various non-profit organizations that have then distributed them to the homeless, as well as grassroots families and workers, hoping to lessen their burdens in searching for the precaution item.

Manila, Philippines – Local fintech and online payments company PayMongo has secured US$31m in funding from their series B funding, which they aim to serve local SMEs more. Said investment round participants include Justin Mateen’s JAM Fund, Philippine VC firms ICCP-SBI Venture Partners and Lisa Gokongwei’s Kaya Founders, together with existing investors Global Founders Capital and SOMA Capital. 

In addition, founders of top European fintech unicorns and startups Qonto, Viva Wallet, Billie and Scalable joined the investment round. This then brings the company’s total funding to just under US$46m, following a US$12m Series A round in 2020 and a US$2.7m seed round in 2019.

Through the funding, PayMongo will continue to scale its operations by strengthening its current payments infrastructure and venturing into more financial services. This involves building products such as disbursements, capital lending, ‘buy now, pay later’, subscriptions and recurring payments, among many others. 

It will likewise explore how the Philippines can serve as a springboard for the digital transformation of financial services in other emerging markets.

For Francis Plaza, CEO and co-founder at PayMongo, the investment is a testament to their growth and the continued growth of their merchants. He added that with this Series B, they will invest further in their merchants’ successes by giving them more means to move money seamlessly online.

“While payment acceptance is crucial, it is just one of the many services that entrepreneurs need to build a successful online business. Our goal is to create a one-stop-shop for all these financial needs in the broader Southeast Asian region, starting with the Philippines,” he said.

Hong Kong – Around 57% of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Hong Kong have reported that they have accelerated their digitalisation efforts for the past 12 months, new survey from insurance company QBE shows.

According to the survey, 21% of the respondents say that growing sales amid reduced consumer spending became a key priority for SME digitalisation, followed by customer acquisition and retention (18%). In addition, SMEs are concerned about staff acquisition, training and retention, as well as logistical and export-import issues, reflecting that maintaining sales performance and ensuring business continuity are critical.

The survey also noted that 88% of the respondents said they currently use digital technologies or intend to invest in them, continuing the upward trend seen in 2020 (75%) and 2019 (73%). 

At present, the three top investment areas are collaborative software for staff (40%), marketing through social or online media (40%) and e-commerce (38%).

Despite the strong outlook, SMEs cited greater competition, data security threats and rising customer expectations as the main challenges for e-commerce. As a result, there is a surge in cyber risk awareness among SMEs, which jumped to 43% from 24% in 2020. SMEs took protection against cyber risk in several different forms, including software solutions and staff training, but particularly, 39% used insurance as a form of protection.

Lei Yu, CEO for North Asia and regional head of distribution at QBE Asia, said that the survey provided useful insights on the challenges that SMEs in Hong Kong are facing, and showed that SMEs are catching up quickly in utilising digital technologies to help achieve their evolving business goals.

“Our annual survey shows that awareness of and appetite for insurance keeps changing, however the underlying trend of insurance and risk management awareness is upwards. This is important because it is in everyone’s interests for them to be adequately protected. SMEs need flexible insurance products that allow them to choose insurance types and coverage according to their own needs,” Yu said.

Bangkok, Thailand – Local cloud services provider Nipa Cloud has tapped global multinational company Juniper Networks to accelerate digital transformation among local enterprises, as well as in anticipation of further growing demand for endpoint flexibility amidst Thailand’s rapidly transforming digital economy.

In light of its strong growth momentum and this increasing demand for cloud services across Thailand’s enterprises, Nipa has deployed network fabric solutions from Juniper Networks, including the QFX5120 Series Switches and MX10003/MX204 Series Universal Routing Platforms, to upgrade its campus and data centre networks and better differentiate its offerings.

“Nipa is now able to better deliver enhanced throughput, scalability, capacity, performance and security – enabling Nipa to continue development of its ground-up cloud solutions, uniquely built for Thailand’s fast- developing enterprises and its rapidly transforming digital ecosystem,” Juniper Networks said in a press statement.

Abhisak Chulya, founder and CEO at Nipa Cloud, said, “Thailand is amid a massive digital transformation, with consumers and enterprises alike accelerating their transition to the cloud. As our nation drives toward Thailand 4.0, it is key that infrastructure providers like Nipa Cloud adapt and transform to stay ahead of the pack.”

He added, “Through our partnership with Juniper Networks, we can introduce new infrastructure-as-a-service capabilities with multiple locations and lower cost of cloud. This will offer our customers and partners access to agile, cost-effective and secure services that will help drive sustainable growth in Thailand’s digital economy.”

Meanwhile, Perry Sui, senior director for ASEAN and Taiwan at Juniper Networks, commented, “We are delighted to partner with Nipa Cloud to support their vision toward enabling Thailand 4.0 through the digital transformation of the country’s enterprises. Nipa Cloud plays a key role in driving the nation’s technological growth and through Juniper’s experience-first networking approach, we are committed to helping them deliver world-class cloud solutions to its end customers. All of which are crucial in bringing digitally-accelerated post-pandemic recovery and in ensuring Thailand’s continued economic growth.”