SECP endorses new lending platform

It will be Pakistan’s first peer-to-peer lending system

ISLAMABAD:

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has approved the launch of Pakistan’s first peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform.

Finja, a venture capital-backed fintech, secured the approval under the first cohort of SECP’s Regulatory Sandbox.

Speaking on the occasion, SECP Chairman Aamir Khan said the commission had placed significant focus on serving the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as they played a vital role in economic development of any country. “To improve access to finance for the MSMEs, agri-borrowers and rural enterprises, the SECP has operationalised the Secured Transaction Registry (STR), which commenced on April 30, 2020,” he added.

“So far, more than 125,000 security interests have been recorded in the registry. It has allowed small businesses to obtain credit against their movable assets.” Similarly, the SECP is focusing on simplifying the private equity and venture capital regime so that high-growth and knowledge-based startups can have access to long-term capital, required to grow and expand.

However, the most significant measure has been the introduction of the Regulatory Sandbox, under which six concepts were approved in the first cohort. The initiative will encourage entrepreneurs and businesses to try and develop new ideas and, in the process, serve end-users, and expand financial inclusion.

Finja, a dual-regulated new-age fintech, has introduced a new entity named “Finja Lending Services” (FLS) with focus on providing digital credit to MSMEs and the people that they employ. Finja has digitally processed loans worth $10 million for the MSMEs and their employees, using their proprietary machine learning and artificial intelligence-led algorithms and analytics.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2020.

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