22/7/2019 – Fixanar Vietnam, Indovina Bank, and Cathay Financial Holdings have together announced a partnership to improve access to financing for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam.
The partnership will provide working capital for these fast-growing SMEs in an easier and streamlined manner. SMEs accounts for 96 to 98 percent of total enterprises operating in the region, and according to Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, up to 70 percent are unable to access credit to fuel growth.
This collaboration is expected to leverage on the analytics modeling and tools from Indovina Bank and Cathay Financial Holdings, as well as Fixanar’s SME credit solutions to streamline the process for these businesses seeking to apply for credit in Vietnam.
“In our experience, small businesses in Vietnam face random demand fluctuations which require them to possess some form of capital flexibility. This is where Fixanar Credit Line (FCL) comes in,” said Fixanar’s co-founer Vihang Patel.
FCL, he further explained, is part of Fixanar’s reinvention of traditional business financing to accommodate and support the growth of SMEs. It is an automated credit financing solution specifically tailored for Vietnam’s SMEs that can be done completely online.
Business owners can now access funds of up to VND500 million (about US$22,000) through FCL. Compare to traditional financing, FCL uses a simple model which charges only a single percentage fee up front on the loan amount, with no hidden or processing charges. In-principle credit approval can be granted within 30 minutes of an online application.
“Our mission is to bring a full suite of innovative products into the market to reinvent how business finance for small businesses is done and to address the pain point of access to financing for SMEs,” said Fixanar’s co-founder Dr. Sian Wee Tan.
FCL is specifically designed to work around such difficulties in accessing credit.
It does not require business owners to provide any collateral and even provide business owners flexibility in their repayment schedules. With FCL, SMEs can now grow their businesses in various ways, including procuring inventory and boosting general business expansion.
“We care about Vietnam’s people and how SMEs are being financed for business growth,” said Cathay Financial Holdings’ Executive Vice President Marcus Lopez. “With 214 offshore office worldwide as well as intensive footprints in Asia-Pacific markets, we are open to all possibilities to collaborate creating even more exciting business benefits to this region.”
Based in Singapore and operating in Vietnam and Hong Kong, Fixanar is a technology firm that offers innovative, data-driven financing solutions tailored to SMEs in Southeast Asia.
The firm is backed by Monk’s Hill Ventures, 500 Startups, Cathay Ventures – the venture arm of Cathay Holdings, alternative asset funds and leading family offices from Singapore, the United States, and Europe.
