Alibaba Reaches Hand Out To India’s SMEs

Alibaba has been far from secret when it comes to boosting its presence in India. The Chinese eCommerce conglomerate has been ramping up operations in the nation through an array of investments and new operations. Alibaba founder Jack Ma visited India Prime Minister Narendra Modi last March and, according to reports, discussed the importance of the B2B business model for eCommerce ventures.

Since that meeting, the company has struck up a deal with India’s TDI International to target SMEs in its advertising efforts. On Monday (June 22), Alibaba revealed yet another venture to focus on India’s SMEs.

The firm has reportedly inked a new partnership with India’s ICICI Bank, the largest private lender in the nation, to launch an SME lending initiative. The venture will allow small business owners that operate on Alibaba.com to access finance through ICICI Bank straight through the eCommerce platform. Reports said businesses will gain access to an array of financial services, including small business loans and foreign exchange support.

“We will offer to the members of Alibaba.com special propositions across our entire spectrum of business services ranging from accounts, letter of credit, bank guarantees, remittances, forex, loans and cash management solutions,” said ICICI Bank executive director Rajiv Sabharwal. “We believe this access to quick and integrated banking will enable Indian entrepreneurs to propel their business on the global platform.”

Reports highlighted the similarities between Alibaba’s new collaboration and a recent partnership inked by fellow eCommerce platform Snapdeal, based in India, and State Bank of India, which also announced a partnership with PayPal. The collaborations all focus on boosting SMEs’ access to finance to support international trade.

While Alibaba has made significant efforts to strengthen its market share in India, similar ventures have aimed to increase SMEs’ access to financing outside of the nation. The company struck a deal with Lending Club earlier this year, for example, and has additionally linked with U.K. alternative lenders ezbob and iwoca to increase SMEs’ access to finance to facilitate their ability to procure goods and services through the Alibaba platform from Chinese suppliers.