Sellers on Lazada have been thrown a Covid-19 lifeline.
E-commerce giant Lazada and fintech startup Aspire have teamed up to give online merchants almost instant access to working capital during the pandemic.
Under the partnership, Aspire is offering working capital loans of up to S$100,000 within three hours of application. This compares with the weeks’ long industry standard timeline normally offered by traditional banks.
The programme is open to Lazada sellers who have been in operation for at least three months on the platform. This instant credit line application aims to help businesses run normal operations and stay competitive.
The signup process can be completed under five minutes and approval is granted within three hours of application. Once approved, working capital can be drawn down immediately. There are no obligations to draw the full amount and Aspire will only charge on drawn funds.
Joel Leong, co-founder and Country Manager of Aspire Singapore, said: “We hope to create a meaningful difference during these trying times, where local businesses cannot afford to wait for long approval processes during the circuit breaker period. Leveraging our technical edge, we are able to provide Singaporean businesses with the capital they need today, within hours on the same day.”
Carey Chong, Chief Operating Officer, Lazada Singapore, added: “We have an obligation to ‘keep the lights on’ for our sellers during these challenging times, and we are glad to be working with Aspire to provide financial assistance to our seller partners to tide through the circuit breaker measures.
“This provides our business owners with the flexibility to pivot their strategy, as many entrepreneurs are now looking towards eCommerce to diversify their revenue streams.”
Aspire is a SME-focused fintech serving what it calls a new generation of digital-savvy businesses with a mobile-first digital business account. It does business across Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore. It was founded in January 2018 by former Lazada founders and executives.
