Small enterprises are essential to the development of economies, particularly emerging ones like India. But, one of their biggest challenges has been getting recognition. Just 15% of the credit demands of small firms were addressed through formal financing, according to a research by the IFC, leaving 85% of them unmet. The problem has begun to be addressed with the rise of FinTech enterprises, and underprivileged businesses now have an opportunity to access financing through digital lending. This has made it possible for small firms to access reliable financial sources and generate employment.
One advantage for small enterprises is digital lending
Many digital lending platforms have evolved in the country as a result of technical development and digitization, addressing the credit requirements of small enterprises. According to a report, faster loan approval, the utilisation of alternative data for creditworthiness, and operating cost effectiveness are just a few of the advantages this modern lending method provides over conventional lending. As the government was eager to boost this business, FinTechs sprung into action to fill the gaps, especially in the field of digital financing. Digital finance is proving to be quite beneficial for small businesses due to the many benefits they offer.
Achieving inclusivity
One of the key conditions for the sustained development of the Indian economy is the necessity for inclusive growth and the availability of possibilities for involvement and contribution from enterprises of all sizes and sorts. By facilitating easier access to information and formalising financing, digital lenders have dramatically increased small company inclusion.
They are using cash flow-based evaluations and data-backed underwriting technologies to sachetize lending size and expand use cases. Due to characteristics like quick loan disbursement, easy KYC, flexible duration, and minimal documentation needs, small companies are turning to these online platforms rather than traditional lending institutions for finance. Digital financing is growing in popularity among small firms that have good credit as a consequence.
Easier credit access
Even in the country’s hinterlands, digital lenders are transcending regional divides to provide clients greater access to financing. With each repayment that is gathered, algorithms are being used to improve and address payback, delay, and delinquency data, making it more reliable. With the use of this technology, biases and last-mile fraud in loan acceptance are eliminated, and credit assessment time and cost are drastically cut, boosting unit economics. In order to increase the flow of credit to underrepresented enterprises, modern digital models may leverage borrower data to compute credit ratings, approve loans, disperse capital, and collect repayments.
More quickly disbursing loans
To establish loan eligibility, digital lenders look at a company’s performance and financial situation. Cash flows, transactional and behavioural baseline data, as well as cutting-edge technology like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, are all included in this data (ML). For determining credit ratings, AI and ML systems analyse alternative data, sales history, and other pieces of information. Automation shortens the digital data management cycle time, and enhanced analytics hasten the loan application processing for online lenders.
Credit will help small firms grow
The formal loan market in India has historically been dominated by banks, but FinTech has produced a disruption and led to new initiatives, product offers, and innovation. According to estimates, India’s market for digital loans would be worth USD 270 billion in 2022 and USD 350 billion in 2023. Due to the large number of users who are first-time business loan borrowers with little to no credit history, technology will remain at the forefront of digital lending. As formal, low-cost lending sources for small companies expand thanks to technology and a scalable credit infrastructure, India can be well on its way to addressing its small business credit shortfall and improving the contributions of small enterprises to its economic development.
