November 29: Nabil Bank has collaborated with Daraz, an online market portal, to jointly launch a programme called ‘Sarathi’ to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Under this strategic partnership, SME selling via Daraz online shopping marketplace will be able to obtain a wide range of credit facilities and benefits which they can use to grow their businesses, the bank said in a statement.

The bank noted that the ongoing economic crisis caused by COVID-19 has had a severe effect on the overall economy, particularly on SMEs. According to the bank, the Sarathi program will enable SME sellers active on Daraz to navigate through the hardships and restrictions presented by COVID-19.

This SME lending program is a new merit-based approach with credit scoring, considering data points from Daraz and scorecard model of Nabil Bank. That means sellers who perform well on Daraz shall get better credit offering, said the bank.

“Under the Sarathi Program, SME sellers can get financing under different categories. They will also be able to avail the SME Loan up to Rs 10 million, especially designed for Daraz sellers at attractive interest rates.”

Sujit Kumar Shakya, deputy CEO of Nabil Bank, and Lino Ahlering, managing director of Daraz Nepal Pvt Ltd, had signed the agreement during a special ceremony.

Speaking about the launch, Deputy CEO of Nabil Bank Shakya said, “This collaboration will remain as a milestone for the development of digital marketplace in Nepal. One of our top priorities is to provide support to SMEs in Nepal to enhance their business through value chain financing for which we have collaborated with Daraz for the Sarathi Program. We believe this financing arrangement shall help them to navigate through the hardships due to COVID-19 and revive their businesses for long term stability and growth.”

According to the bank, the benefits of the program include loan decision within 72 hours (after complete document submission), attractive interest rates, discount on loan admin fee (as per performance on Daraz marketplace) and various loan solutions specially designed for SMEs

On top of the credit facilities, the bank informed that the program offers a variety of benefits/services to existing as well as new SMEs on Daraz, which will help them to facilitate their business both online and offline.

SMEs interested in creating their online presence can visit the website of Daraz for more details.