Daraz, Nabil Bank launch "Sarathi" program

Published On: November 26, 2020 10:46 AM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

From Left: Jashisha Gupta - Chief Financial Officer, Daraz Nepal | Lino Ahlering - Managing Director, Daraz Nepal | Sujit Kumar Shakya - Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Nabil Bank Limited | Niraj Kumar Basnet - Head SME and MF, Nabil Bank Limited | Manjil Dulal - SME Relationship Officer, Nabil Bank Limited

KATHMANDU, Nov 26: Nepal’s leading online marketplace, Daraz, has officially launched the Daraz Sarathi program in collaboration with Nabil Bank.

Under this strategic partnership, small and medium sized enterprises (SME) selling via the Daraz online shopping marketplace will be able to obtain a wide range of preferred credit facilities and benefits which they can use to grow their business, according to a press release issued by Daraz.

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

This SME lending program is a new merit-based approach to credit scoring, considering data points from Daraz and loan provider Nabil Bank. The better a seller performs on Daraz marketplace, the better the credit offering.

Under the Daraz Sarathi Program, SME sellers can get financing of up to NPR 50 million and beyond under different categories, the company said.

SME sellers will further be able to avail the Daraz Nabil SME Loan, especially designed for Daraz sellers, where sellers can obtain loan amounts up to NPR 10 million at attractive interest rates.

On top of the credit facilities, the program offers a variety of benefits to existing as well as new SMEs on Daraz, which will help sellers to revive and uplift their business online and offline, the company said.

The benefits of the program include:

Loan decision within 72 hours (after document submission)
Attractive interest rates for SMEs
Various loan solutions to choose from, designed to cater various SME needs
Discount on loan admin fee as per performance on Daraz marketplace
Further discount of 0.25% on Loan Admin Fee for first 10 SME signups

“We are very excited to present Sarathi in collaboration with Nabil Bank. Even though we have worked on this for a long time, it proves to be even more important considering the impact of COVID-19 on the economy. This is a new solution to credit scoring in Nepal and we are just in the beginning of this strategic partnership. Hence, we are looking forward to working very closely with Nabil Bank on this SME lending program so we can further strengthen the Nepali ecosystem," Lino Ahlering, Managing Director, Daraz Nepal, has been quoted in the press release.