Aspirasi and Lazada team up to provide financing to micro-enterprises and SMEs

(From left) Aspirasi head of strategy and partnerships Gurpreet Kehra, director of marketing, customer experience and innovation Manzur Rahman, director of business development and operations Ankur Jakhwal, Abeykoon, Lee, Lazada Malaysia platform operations senior VP Shah Suriye Rubhen, seller engagement and tools Samiul Kabir Chowdhury and Baizura Raili at the collaboration event between Aspirasi and Lazada

Merchants can enjoy easy financing with free insurance, cashback, zero early settlement charge, among others

By TMR

ASPIRASI, a micro-financing platform and financial technology service provider under Axiata Digital Services Sdn Bhd, has teamed up with leading e-commerce platform Lazada Malaysia to provide finaning support to micro-enterprises and small and medium enterprise (SME) merchants on the e-commerce platform.

The collaboration will leverage Aspirasi’s end-to-end digital financial services that offer fast and simple financing solutions in an effort to boost the growth potential of merchants listed on Lazada Malaysia.

Through Aspirasi’s working capital solution, merchants can enjoy easy financing with free insurance, cashback upon completion of repayment, zero early settlement charges, immediate financing decisions and cash in the merchant’s account within 48 hours during the promotional period from now until Dec 31, 2019.

The agreement signed by Aspirasi director Sheyantha Abeykoon and Lazada Malaysia chief business officer Kevin Lee marks a meaningful effort for both entities towards driving growth for micro-enterprises and SMEs, and building Malaysia’s digital economy.

“At Aspirasi, we understand the obstacles that micro-enterprises and SMEs experience as they strive to grow their business. We believe this collaboration with Lazada Malaysia will enable us to support merchants by providing them with access to financial solutions not available through traditional sectors. With Aspirasi’s seamless micro-financing solutions, merchants on the platform can undertake business opportunities to scale with confidence,” said Abeykoon.

Lee said as e-commerce is a key economy driver for Malaysia, Lazada is focused on boosting SME growth with the right tools, support and financing to succeed.

“By working with like-minded allies such as Aspirasi to remove barriers to business, we are creating a continuity plan for the country’s digital economy,” he said.

Axiata Digital has been focused on accelerating digital adoption since 2014 in its principal markets by offering innovative financial solutions such as e-wallets, microfinancing and micro-insurance.

Its efforts to promulgate digital technology is aimed at securing a future-ready and financially inclusive society for the underserved, while showcasing the business benefits of information communications and technology for success and growth for micro-enterprises and SMEs.

Lazada is committed to uplifting communities through e-commerce, actively driving and championing initiatives aimed at building a sustainable e-commerce ecosystem to future- proof the digital economy.

Lazada strives to make e-commerce accessible to all through its capabilities in technology, logistics and “shoppertainment”, and to enable entrepreneurs to reach their full potential online so that everyone can sell, regardless of their background or location.