From urban kiosks and rural farmers to fashion stores, service providers, and entrepreneurs in countless other sectors, the small business segment in the United Arab Emirates has faced unprecedented changes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, further fueled by the rapid acceleration of digital transformation and e-commerce. To support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) […]

Uber’s long-term partnership with Mastercard continues to grow with a new strategic initiative focusing on digital payments and advancing financial inclusions which will be facilitated by Mastercard across Pakistan, the Middle East, and Africa (MEA). As a regional first, the partnership with Mastercard will enable Uber to drive digitization across their business operations, leveraging Mastercard’s […]

HSBC UK has launched a record £15 billion lending fund to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK, as part of its commitment to help British businesses innovate and grow as the country looks to rebound from the Covid-19 health crisis. The Fund, which includes over £10 billion of specific regionally focussed allocations, […]

Designed to make business banking simpler, faster, and more intuitive, HSBC UK has announced the launch of HSBC Kinetic. A truly mobile-first banking service versus a bank account with mobile features. HSBC Kinetic will help forward-thinking small businesses work smarter at a time where they have never needed to be more agile or on top […]

Nearly eight in ten merchants (79%) of small businesses in Pakistan that were surveyed believe digital payments is an important investment in their business recovery, according to a new study by Visa (NYSE: V), the world leader in digital payments. Two in three small businesses (63%) surveyed say they feel optimistic about a business recovery […]

Mastercard and Razorpay have launched a strategic partnership to drive digital payments acceptance by small businesses and startups in India. The partnership will empower Indian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in digitizing their operations, maintaining business continuity in the challenging environment, and preparing for the future beyond cash. Now more than ever, SMEs and […]

As the year 2020 comes to an end OLX, Pakistan’s no. 1 online marketplace, reflects on data-driven insights related to a wide range of product and services categories. It is important to analyze how the trend of various items and services exchanged through the OLX platform shifted, specifically during times when strict lockdowns seized operations […]

Finja, Pakistan’s leading digital lending platform, announced today that it has closed $9 Million of a $10 Million Series A1 financing round. This latest round brings in new investor ICU Ventures, with all previous institutional investors participating again including BeeNext, Vostok Emerging Finance, Quona Capital, and Gray MacKenzie Engineering Services (a Descon company). Under the […]

FINJA the new-age fintech company hosted an exclusive event in Islamabad to discuss its impact and approach in digitizing credit for the SME/MSME segment under the NBFC regime. The Chairman Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Mr. Aamir Khan, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. 2020 has been a defining year in FINJA’s […]

Mashreq Bank and Mastercard have partnered to announce the launch of Tap On Phone, their new offering for Small and Medium Businesses (SMEs). The innovation, rolled out with the support of and enabled via Mastercard’s Payment Gateway Technology, is part of a wider omnichannel SME in a Box service launched earlier this year in the Middle East & […]