UK SME fintech platform Tide forays into India, commits $100 million investment

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"SMEs a crucial segment for economic growth but it is also quite underserved in India. Our aim is to bring services on one platform and ensure working capital liquidity for SMEs," said Gurjodhpal Singh, CEO, Tide India told CNBC-TV18.

The fintech company said it selected India as its first international market due to the considerable commercial opportunities available and has a long-term ambition to operate in markets accounting for 25 percent of global SMEs.

This year, the company said it is aiming to onboard 25,000 SMEs in India, and it is looking to serve about 2 million SMEs in the country in the next few years.

Tide plans to capture this market by providing solutions aimed at helping small businesses go digital, a new industry demand that has risen amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

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"The digitally large SMEs are our core focus. We are working with partners to reach out to the SMEs, however, digital is our way to go from a distribution standpoint," Singh added.

As a first step, Tide has partnered with RBL Bank and is aiming to deploy AI and ML engines to aid the small and medium enterprises access working capital, the company told CNBC-TV18. It is also working with several fintech partners and is aiming to onboard startups in the near future.

"We are looking to working with startups who are serving SMEs already. The idea is to work with them & bring their products on our platforms. In the UK, we have partnered with a leader like Sage, similar partnerships we are exploring for India," said Singh.

In addition to business accounts and other banking services, Tide offers a comprehensive set of administrative solutions for SMEs.

Going forward, the company is not ruling out acquisitions to fuel its growth in India along with investments in startups.