Amazon.in Launches Lending Program for SMEs in India

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In line with its vision to transform the way India sells, Amazon Seller Services Pvt. Ltd. (ASSPL) today announced the launch of a Seller Lending Program in India that will enable small & medium businesses on Amazon.in get fast & easy access to working capital. The company has partnered with Capital First Limited, an independent Mumbai-based Non-banking Financial Company (NBFC), for the lending program. Capital First will provide secured & unsecured loans to sellers from 5 lakh rupees to INR 2 crores at very competitive interest rates.

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Talking about the Program, Mr. Gopal Pillai, Director & GM, Seller Services, Amazon India said “Through our engagement with sellers, we realized that as small businesses mature, lack of funding can hinder growth and impact the SMEs ability to expand at a rate that matches their ambition and potential. With the Lending Program for sellers, we help them overcome the barrier of access to capital and enable them to scale their business on Amazon.in.”

Sellers on Amazon.in will receive pre-approved indicative offers from the lending partner on their dashboard on Amazon.in’s Seller Central outlining the loan amount they are eligible for and the associated interest rate and service fee. They can select the size and tenure of the loan and fill out the application form. The application form takes less than 10 minutes to fill out.  Sellers will receive the final loan approval decision within 3 working days of submitting relevant documents and funds will be disbursed to them within 2 days of approval.

“We have made the end to end process as quick and easy as possible in order to allow our sellers to spend more time running their business and less time worrying about financing.  This is another example of our continued approach to work backwards from seller needs and enhance the seller experience on our platform,” adds Gopal.

Currently, loans from the Seller Lending program are offered on an invite-only basis for marketplace sellers who qualify against various criteria including account tenure, seller’s selling history (which takes into account a minimum tenure, and minimum sales volume), Customer feedback and Compliance with Amazon policies and guidelines

Ever since Amazon.in entered the country in 2013, it has been working extensively to launch services that meet different business requirements of different sellers and help them grow their business profitably online. Over the past two and a half years, Amazon.in has introduced the most comprehensive suite of offerings for sellers to sell online in India. From running an extensive education and skilling program for SMBs called, Seller University, to  innovating Easy Ship (an assisted shipping service that makes it easy for sellers to ship products across India), to Fulfilment By Amazon (a pay-as-you-go fulfilment service wherein Amazon.in  packs, ships and delivers products to customers, manages returns and does customer service on behalf of the sellers), to  setting up of Fulfilment Centres in locations accessible to sellers through Seller Flex, Amazon.in has been helping sellers reach customers across the country. It has also taken steps to help Indian sellers grow and scale internationally through its Global Selling Program.  Through this program Amazon is enabling easy, simple and convenient access for all Indian sellers – including entrepreneurs, SMEs, manufacturers – to  9 Amazon marketplaces namely US, Japan, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, UK and Mexico. Currently over 6,000 global sellers are offering their Made in India products to over 294 million active Amazon customers globally.

 About Amazon.in                                                                                                               

The Amazon.in marketplace is operated by Amazon Seller Services Private Ltd, an affiliate of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). Amazon.in seeks to build the most customer-centric online destination for customers to find and discover virtually anything they want to buy online by giving them more of what they want – vast selection, low prices, fast and reliable delivery, and a trusted and convenient experience; and provide sellers with a world-class e-commerce platform.

 

About Amazon

Amazon.com opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfilment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.

 

About Shakthi

I am a Tech Blogger, Disability Activist, Keynote Speaker, Startup Mentor and Digital Branding Consultant. Also a McKinsey Executive Panel Member. Also known as @v_shakthi on twitter. Been around Tech for two decades now.

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