JOIN USOnline is a great place to shop, but now it is also a great place to sell as well. The shopping portal Amazon has launched a ‘Seller Lending Programme’ in Februrary, to help people pursue and expand their business online. Though the initiative is in line with Prime Ministers’ ‘Start-up India Campaign’, encouraging for entrepreneurs, but presently it is an invite-only programme.
Pranay Sehgal, 37, a seller on the portal was first an offline retailer of sports bag fabric. An Orginal Equipment Manufacturer for many branded sports bags, his business was spread outside India as well.
“In Europe, I faced a lot of competition with China. They produced cheap and poor fabrics, and were leading in the market. But I didn’t want to compromise with the quality of my product and hence I ventured online and named my brand ‘Polestar’,” says Sehgal.
‘Polestar’, which went into the market in July 2015 without any image, sold 20 units and in the next month it sold 200. This is a success story, where a start-up becomes a brand.
Sehgal tells Metrolife, “My business is self-sustained. I don’t need a loan.”
Most websites are giving faces and image to a brand, which started only as a plan. And after that stage is over, it is any person’s aspiration to grow and earn more money.
Self-sustained business becomes a more reliable option to lend money to. When asked whether they want to approach completely new start-ups, Amazon had no
comments.
But the loan applying process is worth appreciating. It takes only 10 minutes and requires three legal documents. So, if one has their six months’ bank statements ready they can apply anytime anywhere. Since the launch of the programme, over hundreds have already signed up. Whether any such portal has the same kind of loan giving process or not is hard to say, but Amazon has come out with it in open.
The general manager, Amazon India, Gopal Pillai says, “New brand in offline market can go in debts easily. Over here a business intelligence analysts weighs everything from both sides. You get funding within a week and start concentrating more the manufacturing or quality than on debts and money matters.”
Sudhir Saluja did the same, at the age of 45 he got new hope to expand his business. He was into trading and manufacture of mobile parts and accessories. And the stable business saw a chance to grow. He has already taken the loan twice.
The sellers will be selected on a range of criteria including account tenure and delivery of an outstanding customer experience. Selected sellers will receive pre-approved indicative offers from the lending partner on their dashboard called Seller Central outlining the loan amount they are eligible for and the associated interest rate and service fee. The Seller can select the size and tenure of the loan and are smoothly redirected to the lending partner’s web page to fill out the application form. Loans will be repaid over a
period of four to six months. The loan size is five lakhs to two crores.