E-tailing biggies rope in NBFCs to woo sellers with easy loans

The move will help small businesses which struggle to obtain financing from organised lenders

To encourage more sellers join their online channels, e-commerce majors, including Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon, eBay, are tying up with non-banking lenders for extending loans to those keen to sell products through these online marketplaces.

Several new-age non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) like Capital Float, NeoGrowth and Capital First, as well as online finance companies such as Lendingkart and loan facilitators like SMEcorner, are teaming up with e-commerce players to offer sellers quick and hassle-free loans.

“Small businesses struggle to get loans. With e-commerce becoming more mainstream, it is encouraging several entrepreneurs to set up businesses online,” SMEcorner’s founder and Chief Executive Samir Bhatia told PTI.

SMECorner has tied up with Snapdeal, Flipkart, eBay and Paytm, among other e-commerce players, to play a catalyst role to secure easier loans for sellers, he said. It has also partnered with several leading NBFCs.

Lendingkart, which recently raised $10 million from private equity funding, has also tied up with Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon to offer easier loans to sellers who want funds in excess of  Rs 1,00,000.

According to a recent study by the ministry of micro small and medium enterprises, only six per cent of small businesses get finance from organised lenders, indicating the difficulty of small businesses to get loans.

In May, the nation’s largest lender, State Bank of India, also jumped on the bandwagon and tied up with Amazon India to help e-commerce sellers access loans.

Securing loans for sellers is high on priority for the competing online marketplaces.

Last year, eBay had tied up with the Confederation of All-India Traders (CAIT), representing self-employed traders.

CAIT has a membership of over 60 million traders.

Partnering with SMEcorner is expected to fulfil the funding needs of 50,000 sellers estimated to be listed on eBay. Both Flipkart and Amazon had stated earlier this year that they aimed to more than double the number of sellers on their platforms to 1,00,000 each by the end of the year, while Snapdeal had targeted to get 10,00,000 sellers on board over the next three years.