UK-based Tide plans to further expand into Tier 2 and 3 cities
India is undergoing a transformation in digital finance, bringing in a remarkable evolution of the ecosystem, fuelled by the government’s Digital India initiative, says Tide, a leading business financial platform from the United Kingdom.
“Millions more SMEs, a long under-served segment, have entered the formal economy in recent years, and are accessing credit as a result,” said Tide as it gears up to launch new business and financial solutions this year, aiming to have 500,000 members in India by December 2024
It has reached a significant milestone by onboarding more than 200,000 Indian SMEs (members) since its market entry just over a year ago.
Looking ahead to reaching half a million members, Tide plans to further expand into Tier 2 and 3 cities, across a range of businesses. Tide is also advancing its Women in Business programme, with a goal to empower 500,000 women entrepreneurs in India by 2027.
Tide, with a focus on saving businesses time and money, by digitising finance and admin rapid growth in India, noted that SMEs are leapfrogging to digitise their finances to benefit from digital and financial services.
Tide CEO Gurjodhpal Singh said on 16 Jan, “Tide’s array of digital solutions help remove the pain points for entrepreneurs, making it much easier for them to do business. This frees them up to focus on growing their ventures and fulfilling their aspirations.
“We are delighted to provide small businesses with convenient, secure and efficient access to financial services, empowering their introduction into India’s rapidly expanding formal economy.
“By joining Tide, our members also create a financial footprint for themselves, which will drive greater and longer-term access to formal channels of credit, to help them power their businesses.
“As we celebrate this incredible achievement, we also want to renew our pledge to supporting SMEs, contributing to their socio-economic growth, and to relentlessly bringing solutions tailored to their evolving needs.”
Tide believes that India represents a unique business opportunity, with a large untapped market going beyond the official count of 64 million small businesses.
The company plans to launch a credit marketplace platform for its members. Tide will help connect small businesses with the right set of lenders, streamlining the process of accessing credit and significantly reducing the time involved. This solution is designed to empower small businesses, offering them efficient and easy access to formal credit.
Members can anticipate features on the Tide app, including Khata, Bank Transfers, ATM withdrawals, Bill Payments and more in 2024.
With its commitment to protecting its members and restricting unauthorized access to the platform, Tide adopts a compliance-first approach. The fintech has onboarded members with a robust identity verification to formalize only genuine entrepreneurs.
The company ensured a digitally secure environment for its members, ahead of India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, putting the onus on businesses to safeguard users’ data.
Tide’s member-base reveals Gen Z and younger Millennials form 70% of members in the 18-30 age group. Tide is enjoying rapid adoption across key regions in India, including Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha, among others.
Close to 70% of the members on the platform are mom & pop stores, freelancers/solopreneurs, including a variety of professional consultants, grocery stores, repair shops and food & beverage outlets.
In the UK, Tide has more than 10% market share, or 1 in 10 small businesses, typically 1-10 people, use Tide. Small businesses in the UK find its mobile app convenient and cost effective, and are able to carry out accounting, administration, payroll, banking, and other financial services on the go. Fiinews.com
