Key industry leaders shared valuable insights regarding effective management of working capital, financing options for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the integration of financial services into non-financial businesses infrastructures.
Biz2X, a subsidiary of Biz2Credit and a prominent digital lending SaaS platform in India, organized the Frontiers of Digital Finance Roundtable at the Courtyard by Marriott in Bengaluru. This highly anticipated event gathered influential leaders from various industries to share their perspectives on the theme, “SME lending in the digital age and the current opportunities, challenges and innovations“. The overarching goal of roundtable also discussed about the critical financial topics, effective working capital management, financing options for SMEs, and the integration of financial services into non-financial businesses infrastructures.
The third successful edition of the Frontiers of Digital Finance Roundtable was marked by the valuable insights and experiences shared by various industry leaders including spokespeople from BlackBuck, Agrizy, Ninjacart and Loadshare Networks among others. The discussions revolved around crucial topics, including facilitating credit access to SMEs in their respective ecosystems, navigating the changing regulatory landscape in lending, and developing effective strategies for partnerships and collaborations to enhance their services and drive innovation in the industry. The event laid the groundwork for future advancements in financial technology and inclusive lending practices.
Sharing his views on the company’s initiative, Vineet Tyagi, Head of India Operations and Global CTO, Biz2X said, “Collaboration and knowledge-sharing play a crucial role in driving innovation and promoting SME lending business in the Indian ecosystem. The Frontiers of Digital Finance Roundtable serves as a vital platform for industry leaders to exchange valuable insights and experiences, paving the way for future advancements in financial technology and inclusive lending practices. We are committed to fostering partnerships and collaborations that will enhance our services and empower SMEs in the Indian economy.“
The industry leaders participating at the roundtable discussed how the industry aggregators encounter critical challenges that hinder their ability to provide optimal services to MSMEs. These challenges include restricted access to essential information, a lack of coherent structure, and the need to navigate the varying perspectives of multiple stakeholders. Furthermore, time constraints, collateral requirements for MSME loans, inadequate financial expertise, lack of liquidity, and limited access to working capital are among the other obstacles that these aggregators face.
Putting forth his views while moderating the roundtable, Raghav Ghosh, Partner, Boston Consulting Group, “Addressing the large MSME credit gap is key to reaching the 10 trillion dollar economy ambition. The forum was a great way to foster innovation & co-create solutions for the most pressing challenges in SME lending such as adapting lending policies & norms to MSME sub-segments, use of technology & analytics to lower cost of lending & enhance CX, and forging partnerships between banks, NBFCs, fintechs & MSME ecosystem aggregators to expand access to credit.”
Vinay Koka, CEO and Founder, Meraai, said, “The biggest challenge that we faced while lending money to the retailers has been the collection which prompted us to shift to cash-and-carry model. We are consistently exploring multiple models like staples, processed food, packed food, supply chain with a revamped approach to scale up through bootstrapped model without raising any VC funds.”
Puneet Jain, Head of Growth, Onwo, said, “We are using our debt fund to source the supply and we currently export to 11+ countries. While we look to explore a new approach, information arbitrage about SMEs profiling is a big challenge considering the data requirements by the lender.”
“Having worked with multiple lenders, current interest rates to SMEs poses a challenge for Agrizy while we are making efforts towards value addition in our gamut of services,” added Mr. Sabyasachi Satpathy, Strategic Partner, Agrizy.
As part of its ongoing efforts to drive innovation in the industry, Biz2X plans to organize similar events every month in Delhi and other cities.
About Bix2X
Biz2X is the leading digital lending platform, enabling financial providers to power growth with a modern omni-channel experience, best-in-class risk management tools and a comprehensive yet flexible Servicing engine. The company partners with financial institutions to support their Digital transformation efforts with Biz2X’s digital lending platform. Biz2X solutions not only reduces operational expense, but accelerates lending growth by significantly improving client experience, reducing total turnaround time and equipping the relationship managers with powerful monitoring insights and alerts.
About Biz2Credit
Biz2Credit is a digital-first provider of small business funding. Biz2Credit leverages data, cash flow insights, and the latest technology to give business owners an automated small business funding platform. Since its inception, Biz2Credit has been the best place for small businesses to get funding online. With over 750 employees globally, our team – made up of top-notch engineers, marketers and data scientists – is building the next generation in business lending solutions.
About Boston Consulting Group
Boston Consulting Group partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. BCG was the pioneer in business strategy when it was founded in 1963. Today, we help clients with total transformation-inspiring complex change, enabling organizations to grow, building competitive advantage, and driving bottom-line impact. To succeed, organizations must blend digital and human capabilities. Our diverse, global teams bring deep industry and functional expertise and a range of perspectives to spark change. BCG delivers solutions through leading-edge management consulting along with technology and design, corporate and digital ventures-and business purpose. We work in a uniquely collaborative model across the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization, generating results that allow our clients to thrive. For more information, please visit bcg.com.
