Platform to help MSME’s scale up launched

SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm, has launched, a business-to-business (B2B) online marketplace that offers micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) short-term invoicing financing.

Known as SOLV Ghana, the platform also offers buy now pay later services, and business loans via a trusted marketplace of verified buyers and sellers.

Ghana’s MSMEs account for 83% of people engaged in business and are responsible for about 71% of business revenues in the country.

The sector is however faced with challenges—such as limited access to efficient and fast credit or financing; affordable professional support services—which affect their profitability and impede their growth and ability to scale operations.

SOLV Ghana therefore aims to address these challenges by creating a verified and secured digital marketplace relationship between MSMEs, their suppliers, and participating financial institutions, to offer pre-approved loan facilities to fund shortfalls between their cash flows and existing working capital required for restocking. 

The platform will also provide reliable and affordable business support service to improve operational efficiency. 

SOLV Ghana’s digital marketplace offers MSMEs access to a supply chain financing solution backed by multiple financial institutions and anchor relationships. 

In addition, the platform provides reliable and affordable business support services such as accountants, marketing professionals, and lawyers from multiple service providers to enhance operational efficiency and sustainable growth. 

SOLV Ghana will also help MSMEs integrate into the Financial Trust Corridor established by the Ghanaian and Singaporean governments, which aims to integrate trade flows and business services discovery within the Asia-Africa trade corridor.  

The CEO of SOLV Ghana, Sam Kwaku Peprah in a release said “at SOLV, our mission is to empower MSMEs by providing them with innovative solutions that address their financial needs, streamline their operations, and foster sustainable growth,” 

“The SOLV Ghana platform has successfully onboarded 40 supply chain ecosystems linked to over 9,000 MSMEs participating on the platform,” he said.

He said the launch of the platform in Ghana marks a significant step in a bid to  contribute to the national economic development agenda.

For his part, General Manager of Global Poly Ghana, a supplier that participated in the pilot, Joseph Odame said “Our distributors are the happiest people today because they are offered a credit limit from SOLV that enables them to buy stock and pay later.”

“As a manufacturer, we are excited about how SOLV’s intervention will help curtail our account receivables and offer us competitive advantage over our peers,” he added.

A member of SC ventures, Dan Karuga also added that “We are thrilled to support SOLV in bringing its transformative solutions to Ghana. The collaboration between SC Ventures, SOLV, and its local development partners, signifies a commitment to driving innovation and fostering economic development,” 

“Together, we aim to empower MSMEs and contribute to the growth of the Ghanaian economy, following our learnings and successes in India and Kenya, “ he said.

Also commenting on the platform, the CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Ghana, Mansa Nettey, said the of launch of SOLV in Ghana presented a great opportunity to sustainably support the growth of Ghanaian MSMEs.

“Our ability to successfully incubate with our local partners affirms our commitment to collaboratively exploring more ventures and business solutions that will progressively advance our mission of rewiring the DNA in banking,” she stated.

About SOLV

SOLV first launched in India in December 2020 and subsequently in Kenya, in 2022. With plans to expand globally, SOLV Ghana marks the company’s first step towards continental expansion in Africa. 

In June 2022, SOLV raised US$40 million in Series A funding led by marquee investor, SBI Holdings,with participation from SC Ventures. Building on the success of SOLV’s strong performance in India, SOLV has set its sight on further global expansion to 300+ cities in India, Africa, and Southeast Asia.