Globally, alternative investment alternatives have grown significantly in recent years. Parity lending, when an individual or institution lends money to other individuals or enterprises without involving a traditional bank, is one of these opportunities. In light of this revolutionary shift in global investment portfolio, Finja, Pakistan’s premier digital supply chain finance NBFC, has developed Pakistan’s first P2P lending platform: Finja Invest (SECP).
Small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) have always been a vital part of the economy, notably during the COVID era when movement was restricted and localization was encouraged.
Many innovative business concepts are oriented on the wellbeing of this population, which is a societal victory. But we need to be more strategic and find long-term solutions to close the historical credit gap for MSMEs.
Finja Invest is sustainable since it does not rely on traditional funding sources, but on many firms and individuals lending their resources to creditworthy borrowers. A business supplies funds to another business and receives up to 20% annualised returns. The principal is always safeguarded and money can be withdrawn at any moment. This is all done digitally and instantly, eliminating any friction.
An alternative investment option that allows firms and institutions to invest surplus cash in MSMEs in need of funding while earning larger returns than traditional investment alternatives, resulting in national socio-economic success.
Finja has helped over 15,000 MSMEs in 39 cities with over PKR 5.2 billion in credit disbursement and Rs 250 billion in payments throughput. Out of this, Finja Invest has lent PKR 75 million to over 2,000 creditworthy MSMEs. We currently provide equity financing to these MSMEs, but this may soon expand to other assets such as corporate financing and invoice discounting.
Financent CEO and co-founder Qasif Shahid said: “The commercial licence of NBFC-P2P from SECP assures us that regulators are working towards improving Pakistan financially, digitally, and prosperous for all.”
Financed by major global VC firms such as Sweden’s Vostok Emerging Finance, Japan’s BeeNext, America’s Quona Capital, Ukraine’s ICU, Descon and Pakistan’s largest private bank, HBL, Finja was launched in 2016.
