SIDBI Signs MoU with CDAC to Strengthen Cyber Security Capabilities

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), the principal financial institution engaged in the promotion, financing and development of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), a premier R&D organization under the Ministry of Electronics and IT, Government of India, in a virtual event.

SIDBI and C-DAC will collaborate to explore innovation and use of emerging technologies in the areas of Cyber Security, AI/ML, block chain, etc. and related training and capacity building aspects in the Banking Sector.

The MoU was signed by Shri Sudatta Mandal, Deputy Managing Director, SIDBI, and Shri Magesh E, Executive Director, C-DAC, in the presence of Shri Satheesh G, Senior Director and Head, Cyber Security Group, Shri Senthilkumar K.B and Dr. Dittin Andrews, Joint Directors from C-DAC and Shri Ravi Tyagi, Chief General Manager, SIDBI, Shri Paramendra Tiwary, Chief Technology Officer, SIDBI, Shri Sudhir Tandon, General Manager, SIDBI.

Since its formation in 1990, SIDBI has been impacting the lives of citizens across various strata of the society through its integrated, innovative and inclusive approach. Be it traditional, domestic small entrepreneurs, bottom-of-the-pyramid entrepreneurs, to high-end knowledge-based entrepreneurs, SIDBI has directly or indirectly touched the lives of Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) through various credit and developmental engagements. SIDBI 2.0 carries the vision of inclusive, innovative and impact-oriented engagements.

To know more, check out: https://www.sidbi.in

4 Out of 10 MSMEs Changed Their Business Models to Survive the Pandemic, Reveals MSMEx Survey

Underlining the crushing impact of the pandemic’s second wave earlier this year on small businesses throughout India, over 70% of MSMEs interviewed for a new survey confirmed that their business suffered a debilitating impact in the aftermath of the second wave. The online survey of 150 MSMEs spread across India was conducted by MSMEx, India’s leading education and growth consulting services platform, to study the impact of covid-19 on the sector.

While 50% of the respondents affirmed that they are yet to fully recover from the ramifications of both waves of the pandemic, nearly 43% MSMEs said they changed their business model to survive the pandemic. When asked about the nature of adjustments made in their businesses, 56% MSME respondents said they were forced to adopt digital for marketing and payments, while 38% said they focused on improving their customer relations. 35% respondents had to take external financial help to support their businesses, while 34% said they moved to a remote working model.

"Our goal for this survey was to identify the breadth and depth of the pandemic’s second wave’s impact on India’s MSME sector, and how we could mitigate this impact and address their problems before another wave hits us. We are glad to see that the small businesses we surveyed have shown tremendous resilience and adaptability to survive. Our observation is that businesses with asset-light models, or those who altered their business models with ease to reduce the cash drain have successfully survived the lockdowns and the aftermath of Covid," said Amit Kumar, CEO and Co-Founder MSMEx.

While 11% respondents said their business has had a positive impact from the pandemic, 15% respondents also said in response to a separate question that their business was performing better than pre-covid times.

When asked about the support received from government schemes and incentives, 50% of the respondents said that the schemes did not help them with sustaining their business through the pandemic. Only 18% of the respondents found government schemes to be supportive. On the contrary, 42% of the respondents said they took financial help from friends and family.

Looking ahead, 42% of the respondents agreed that they need help to address delayed client payments, while 35% wanted government support in the form of lower input costs. 36% of MSMEs surveyed also sought help for dealing with mental stress caused by the unforeseen disruption, underlining the importance of mental health and business coaching and mentorship for running a successful business.

About MSMEx

MSMEx is an EdTech platform for providing Learning, Mentoring and Networking to micro and small Business Owners. Users can attend hundreds of live video sessions and can also talk to experts 1-to-1 over the video calls to get mentorship and advice from highly experienced and curated business experts. If needed these experts may be engaged by business owners for hand holding and execution support. For more information, please visit www.msmex.in

Niyogin Fintech Board Approves the Hypergrowth Plan Entailing Upto INR 1Bn Investment Quarterly Gross Transaction Value Crosses INR 20 Bn

Niyogin Fintech Limited (BSE: 538772), a publicly listed fintech platform, today announced its results for the second quarter and half year ended September 30, 2021.

Commenting on the Company’s performance, Amit Rajpal, Co-Founder, and Non-Executive Chairman, Niyogin Fintech Limited said, “We are excited by the Board’s decision to approve the hypergrowth business plan that entails an investment of upto INR 1 billion to create the most comprehensive financial inclusion platform offering in the market enabling the business to scale rapidly and build multiple-interlinkages with open architecture and in a modular format. Given our strong balance sheet, we can support such investments and this sets us up for exponential growth over the next 2 years.”

In addition, Tashwinder Singh, CEO, Niyogin Fintech Limited said, “Our business model has been validated with sustained operational and financial performance. We recorded an 18% sequential revenue growth as we crossed INR 20 billion in GTV this quarter. Our decision to invest incremental capital in the business will enable us to expand the addressable market and add multiple products to make this the most comprehensive fintech Infrastructure platform. This will be a holistic system for our partners, experienced as a standalone Application, API or SDK depending on their requirements.”

Key Highlights of Q2 FY2022

• Total Consolidated Revenues at INR 259.9 million, up 230.5% YoY
• Debt free and net cash balance sheet. Cash and Equivalents at INR 1,714.3 million
• Rural-tech partners stood at 518, up 45.9% YoY
• Rural distribution touch points reached 198,593, up 199.9% YoY
• The number of partners on our urban channel increased by 43.0% YoY, to 4,636
• The gross transaction value (GTV) including payouts of Rural-Tech for the quarter was INR 21,003 million up 12.1% YoY*
• Wealth Tech AUM grew to INR 18,244 million; up 120.7% YoY

*GTV growth for Q2FY21 and Q2FY22 is including retailer payouts, in line with industry standards. In Q1FY22 the same was excluding payouts

About Niyogin Fintech Limited

Niyogin Fintech Limited (www.niyogin.com) caters to India’s underserved MSMEs and rural individuals, and is engaged in diversified segments such as Rural Tech, Credit, and Wealth Tech. In MSMEs, Niyogin counts on the strong customer connect of its to drive business growth on a revenue sharing model. The Company further operates on a hybrid model wherein it provides technology solutions across its different segments to its partners, who in turn handle the physical leg of customer servicing for a revenue share. In rural areas, the Company has been empowering the retail stores to offer payments and financial transactions to customers in their vicinity.

Mswipe Develops Industry 1st MSME Score for Risk based Credit

Partners with Equifax to differentiate risks by assessing alternate data to bureau score

Mumbai, June 09, 2021: Helping banks, financial institutions and non-bank finance companies (NBFCs) to better assess micro, small and medium enterprise (MSMEs) for credit solutions, Mswipe announced an industry first hybrid credit score in partnership with Equifax.

The score adds a quintessential layer of credible alternative data - transaction variables, merchants customer profile, loyalty base and other payment related parameters in addition to traditionally available demographic data and credit bureau rating.

The new tool will make assessment of MSME creditworthiness easier and provide the opportunity to differentiate risks thereby opening possibilities of dynamic pricing of credit solutions.

In addition to making it easier for MSMEs to avail credit with the new score, Mswipe is also providing retailers with the most affordable loan repayment facility through daily settlements on POS loans.

MSMEs, which comprise 95 per cent of businesses in India, typically face challenges in availing credit from traditional lenders. Lack of regular banking habits, financial and income statements of MSMEs limit banks and NBFCs in their credit testing ability to provide credit lines or loans as they continue to rely heavily on demographic data or bureau footprint for decision making process.

Amit Mande, Head – Lending Business, Mswipe, said, 

We have created an extremely powerful tool to differentiate risk and not only expedite decision making for banks and NBFCs but also offer risk based pricing for credit solutions. The credit score enhances Mswipe’s ability to allow our lending partners to extend credit products like loans, credit lines, loans against POS to MSMEs in a quick and affordable manner.

Equifax has strengthened the credit score by back testing merchants’ credit behaviour in the past and identifying different risk variables, basis transaction history and merchant credit behaviour.

Nipa Modi, Country Head, Fintech, Insurance & WFS, Equifax said --

Over the years, Equifax, as the leading credit bureau in the country, has worked with the Indian financial services industry to help maintain highest levels of underwriting standards. Now, with its partnership with Mswipe, Equifax brings a unique blend of differentiated data and analytics thereby assisting MSME lenders and Fintechs navigate through crests and troughs of the lending cycle, further promoting responsible lending in these times. Equifax will facilitate lending of business loans to merchants backed by a statistical scoring mechanism using Mswipe POS data and merging it with the bureau performance data.

The Mswipe credit score will be available for industry partners to offer credit solutions to MSMEs who have been hit badly owing to continued lockdowns amid the second wave of COVID-19.

About Mswipe

Mswipe aims to be India’s largest financial services platform for SMEs by providing seamless digital payment and other value-added financial services. It is the largest independent mobile POS merchant acquirer and network provider with 6.75 lakh POS and 1.1 million QR merchants across the country. Mswipe offers a host of payment acceptance services for SME’s enabling them to accept - cards, wallets, mobile payment apps and bank apps, contactless and QR payments. Headquartered in Mumbai, Mswipe began operations in 2011. Its key investors include B Capital, UC-RNT, Falcon Edge Capital, Matrix Capital Partners, DSG Partners and Epiq Capital.

ABOUT EQUIFAX INC.

At Equifax (NYSE: EFX), we believe knowledge drives progress. As a global data, analytics, and technology company, we play an essential role in the global economy by helping financial institutions, companies, employers, and government agencies make critical decisions with greater confidence. Our unique blend of differentiated data, analytics, and cloud technology drives insights to power decisions to move people forward. Headquartered in Atlanta and supported by more than 11,000 employees worldwide, Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. For more information, visit Equifax.com. For media inquiries, contact mediarelations@equifax.com.