CXOToday has engaged in an exclusive interview with Mr. Kalyan Basu, MD & CEO Vayana (IFSC) Pvt. Ltd. which owns and operates Vayana TradeXchange, the ITFS platform regulated by IFSCA.
Q) How is Vayana bringing formal finance to the last mile leading to the formalization of small businesses? What are the products and services offered by Vayana Network?
At Vayana, we believe, that every business, small or large, should have timely access to affordable and formal sources of working capital finance. Vayana creates supply chain finance programs for corporates and their partners (vendors and dealers), all the way up to the last mile which could be a kirana store or a sole proprietor-led small manufacturing unit.
Vayana, with the help of technology and the deep domain experience of its team, has developed products, which make it unit positive for lenders to finance MSMEs, eventually reducing the cost of credit. There are two major reasons which lead to traditional lenders staying away from lending to MSMEs – one, the inability, of small businesses to prove their creditworthiness and second, the cost of servicing them.
Vayana’s cloud-based solutions help banks reduce their costs, acquire customers digitally, authenticate transactions digitally and monitor repayments.
Every business has its own format for invoices. Vayana has developed systems which convert invoices irrespective of their format, into data which is readable for the bank’s systems and a corporate’s ERP. This core solution is applied to all trade finance products, regardless of the size and type of the business entity.
Apart from the trade finance products suite, Vayana simplifies monitoring and compliance by offering the following solutions to MSMEs:
Utilities to file GST returns, generate e-Invoices and e-Way bills, helping them become credit ready.
Cashflow management solutions through HyloBiz help MSMEs automate receivables/payables and reconciliations.
GBS (Good Business Score in collaboration with CRIF), gives MSMEs a detailed analysis of their business health based on GST returns.
Q) How access to capital has long been a challenge which the MSME sector is still tackling?
Access to capital has long been a challenge for the MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprise) sector for various reasons:
All the above mentioned challenges combined make it difficult for the MSME sector to obtain the required capital that they need to run and grow their businesses. This lack of access to capital can restrict their ability to hire employees, innovate and invest in technology and equipment, thus limiting their potential for growth and profitability.
Q) How supply chain financing can be an effective solution to address this long pending problem?
Supply chain financing can be an effective solution to address the MSME sector’s access to capital challenge in the following ways:
Overall, supply chain financing can be an effective solution to address the MSME sector’s access to capital challenge by providing consistent working capital and reduced risk, which ultimately supports the growth of MSMEs.
Q) What is the importance of enabling ease of access to export/import finance for MSMEs?
MSMEs contribute almost 50% to Indian exports. Many of them have steady, stable, business relationships which they have been servicing well over the years. And yet, growth has always been a problem for MSMEs, who are often unable to build on and expand their existing business.
With the right access to finance, the MSME sector will continue to grow and thrive, creating more jobs, and will further contribute to economic growth, both locally and globally. MSMEs are to play crucial role if India is to achieve the USD 5 trillion economy and exports are to contribute USD 1 trillion to it.
Enabling ease of access to export/import finance is critical for the growth and success of MSMEs in the following ways:
Q) How Vayana is enabling access to trade finance through the VTX platform (Vayana Trade Xchange)
Vayana TradeXchange (VTX) is an end-to-end digital platform facilitating easy and affordable cross-border trade finance globally. It is registered and regulated by IFSCA, (International Financial Services Centres Authority) Gift City, Gandhinagar, India, the unified regulator set up under the IFSCA Act 2019 by the Govt of India.
Vayana (IFSC) Pvt Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of Vay Network Services Pvt. Ltd., owns and operates the VTX platform under the broad framework put in place by IFSCA for setting up and operating International Trade Financing Services (ITFS) Platforms. VTX is a paradigm shift as it enables Sellers (Exporters) and Buyers (Importers) across the globe to avail various types of trade finance products which helps them manage their trade receivables and payables resulting in better management of cashflows.
Through this platform, exporters and importers gain timely access to trade finance in the currency of the invoice, seamlessly across geographies, thus opening avenues to new business opportunities. The rates are discovered through a live and transparent bidding mechanism, which leads to an efficient price discovery.
CXOtoday is a premier resource on the world of IT, relevant to key business decision makers. We offer IT perspective & news to the C-suite audience. We also provide business and technology news to those who evaluate, invest, and manage the IT infrastructure of organizations. CXOtoday has a well-networked and strong community that encourages discussions on what’s happening in the world of IT and its impact on businesses.
Copyright © 2018 Trivone Digital Services Pvt Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
