Opal and Choco Up have announced a partnership to offer revenue-based financing to e-commerce merchants and other startups while Mastercard and Grab have launched free online business courses for driver, merchant and delivery partners.
Opal, Choco Up to offer revenue-based financing
Opal, a major payment institution (MPI) licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and Asian investment platform Choco Up have announced a partnership to offer revenue-based financing (RBF) to e-commerce merchants and other startups.
RBF allows debtors to repay their loans by sharing a portion of their monthly revenue for the instalment. This helps small businesses to manage their operations despite irregular cash flows.
While Opal offers financial solutions that can embed into any platform, Choco Up provides zero-equity funding with data analytics and machine learning.
“With rising interest rates and the increasing cost of financing, coupled with the uncertainty of the global economy, businesses need more flexible working capital solutions. Our ability to connect data from business transactions to their eligibility for revenue-based financing means that more businesses can now access a truly innovative working capital solution,” Lim Ming Wang, Opal co-founder, said in a statement.
The recent partnership makes any business receiving payments in the Opal business account more likely to qualify for RBF at more competitive terms.
Mastercard, Grab launch business courses
Mastercard and Grab launched two free online business courses for driver, delivery and merchant partners across Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam amid the demand to upskill in a competitive digital economy.
The courses are part of the “Small Business, Big Dream” programme aimed at helping gig economy workers and small business owners add more competencies in digital business operations.
Learning platforms Tumbu, WISE and Bayan Academy have jointly developed 20 short videos for the programme.
According to a statement, the courses were created based on survey insights from over 34,000 driver-partners and 600 small businesses. The survey led to course subjects such as expense management, starting a new business, increasing profits and online marketing, among others.