Meta to expand SME Loan Plan

Facebook and Whatsapp parent Meta will expand its loan for small businesses programme in India from the current 200 towns to almost the entire country effective immediately. Meta has also announced the launch of an India first equated monthly installment (EMI) scheme for the advertisers on its platforms, which also included the Instagram photo and video sharing service. The scheme will allow companies, especially small businesses, to spread the payment of their ad spending over 3 months.

Meta will help Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises secure business loans which the firms would be free to use as they wish to and advertisers for its platforms can choose any amount between Rs.3,200 and Rs.5,00,000 to be converted to EMI, Ajit Mohan,MD,Facebook India, said in an interview.

The company has tied up with loan disbursal platforms and will keep an arm’s length with the business.

The programme will now be expanded to 19000 pin codes. “All we are really trying to crack here is freeing up working capital for small advertisers. For them, even the cost of EMI can be very material.”

He added that the efforts of Meta in India over the past two years had been focused on ensuring that there was ample working capital for businesses. The number one issue that the small businesses face is working capital. And getting over this issue can mean the difference between success and failures for small businesses.

Source: Economic Times, Mumbai