Digital lending platform focusing on micro-credit for the MSME sector Happy Loans on Tuesday announced its partnership with rural digitisation and commerce optimisation platform, Storeking.
Aimed at providing Happy Loans' innovative and data-driven credit products to Storeking's substantial merchant network, the partnership has achieved the stunning milestone of disbursing Rs. 4 crores of credit in just three months.
The synergy between the two companies emerges from the similarities in their targets - greater economic productivity and well-being for MSMEs in the country.
Happy Loans helps MSMEs receive credit conveniently through the application of smart technologies; Storeking looks to help rural MSMEs access the benefits of digitisation and e-commerce.
On the other hand, Storeking has used its considerable on-ground presence and outreach to connect over a million villagers to the benefits of e-commerce, and now Happy Loans is able to tap into their extensive merchant network and offer them credit.
Happy Loans has achieved full data integration with Storeking, allowing it to use its proprietary Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven systems to determine the best leads for credit, and match them with the perfect kind of product.
The data enables Happy Loans to offer timely loans to help these merchants stock inventory or expand operations at the perfect time, helping them achieve greater commercial success.
With this mutually beneficial ecosystem in place, Happy Loans is targeting providing 20,000 Storeking merchants with credit in the next two quarters, to continue their growth story.
"There are consistent coverage and conversation around the number and value of digital transactions in the country, but little or no concerted attempt to ensure that 'Digital India' makes the progress it needs to make in excluded portions of our country," said founder and CEO, Happy Loans, Manish Khera.
"Through our alliance with Storeking, we can reach these small business owners and shopkeepers, and give them the finances required to expand, grow, and continue their pursuit of happiness," Khera added.
"Rural India is where 70 percent of our country lives and breathes, but they lack access to technology. Our mission is to bring them the benefits of the technologies poised to revolutionise commerce and business," said founder and CEO, Storeking, Sridhar Gundaiah.
"We are extremely pleased with the synergy and growth that our partnership has led to for rural MSMEs, and look forward to helping 20,000 additional merchants access credit from Happy Loans in the coming months," Gundaiah added.
Various different sources - bodies such as IFC, ASSOCHAM, and the NSSO survey - indicate that MSMEs in India are facing crippling shortfalls in access to credit and institutional finance.
Formal channels of finance are often inaccessible to MSMEs, especially those in the rural hinterland.
Happy Loans is looking to address this shortfall, and in its single year of operations has disbursed 8000 loans worth over Rs. 30 crores, and has launched services in 26 states and in over 200 cities.
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