iwoca and ezbob will be able to easily access trade finance when purchasing goods from China-based suppliers, as they willl be able to finance upfront payments.
Wei Duan, Alibaba.com’s European marketing and business development director, said: “We know that small businesses need fast access to trade finance in order to compete and succeed.
“We want to make financing as easy as possible for the millions of British companies that do business through Alibaba.com.
“Working with the leaders in this field, ezbob and iwoca, offers each of our customers an advanced and integrated trade finance service package.”
Using Alibaba.com businesses can apply for a line of credit, receive approval, and then can use the line of credit to make multiple drawdowns to finance purchases.
Through iwoca businesses can apply for up to £50,000 for six months, while through ezbob they can borrow £50,000 to £120,000 for up to 15 months.
Russell Gould, chief operating officer at ezbob, said: “Our partnership with Alibaba.com will create a compelling offer for UK buyers and will also benefit Chinese suppliers.
“We predict that this will help fuel a significant increase in UK trade volume on the Alibaba.com platform.
“As the UK’s largest business e-lender we welcome the opportunity to help small businesses to negotiate with suppliers from a position of strength with readily available funds.”
And Christoph Rieche, chief executive of iwoca, said: “Small business have been failed by the banks due to lack of available financing. This has held back UK economic growth.
“This deal gives small businesses the muscle they need to quickly finance deals and trade in the global market.
“The partnership with Alibaba.com highlights the dramatic growth in alternative forms of lending and the economic shift away from established bank lenders. We expect to finance over £100m worth of deals over the next 12 months.”
