Wave Money, the leading provider of mobile financial services in Myanmar, has collaborated with Yoma Bank to boost the development of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Through this collaboration, Yoma Bank provides unsecured, instant credit to Wave Money agents to help these agents operate their businesses more productively.
According to Ministry of MSME statistics, there are over 70,000 registered MSME enterprises across Myanmar. “MSMEs are key players in the country’s economic development. We believe that helping them scale is essential for boosting the country’s overall economic growth. We hope that this program will help grow not just these businesses, but the entire MSME sector and the broader economy,” said Brad Jones, CEO of Wave Money.“Yoma Bank initiated the ‘Smart Credit’ loan program for Wave Money agents in November 2018. Since then, we have witnessed strong demand for these loans, thanks to the fast and convenient application process, as well as the effectiveness of credit in helping the agents’ businesses grow, “Jones added.
Wave Money’s distributors and agents apply for the loan through Yoma Bank’s online application, and the loan is disbursed to the agent’s Yoma Bank account within one business day. The loan amount is based on the agents’ Wave Money transaction volume. The maximum eligible loan amount increases as agents conduct higher volumes of monthly transactions, and as they repay prior Yoma Bank loans on time. Since November 2018, over 50% of Wave Money’s distributors and over 20% of agents have taken a loan from Yoma Bank through this partnership.
“We collaborated with Wave Money as the first business partner for our Smart Credit program. We have been thrilled with the program’s success, having dispersed over 40 billion Kyats to over 8,000 Wave Agents since November 2018,” said Jason Loughnane, Yoma Bank’s Head of Digital Credit. Agents learn about the loan program through various channels – SMS messages, phone calls, and in-person visits from Wave Money employees. Agents must clear a low monthly hurdle of transaction volume to continue to remain eligible for a Yoma Bank loan, so inactive agents lose access to the credit program.
