Bengaluru, India, November 20, 2024: Bizom, a leading retail intelligence platform in India, has collaborated with global nonprofit Accion and Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, the philanthropic arm of Mastercard, to expand its digital Consumer Packaged Goods’ (CPGs) marketplace. The collaboration seeks to serve more than 4 million small retailers through embedded credit offerings to grow their businesses.

India has more than 63 million1 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), including 13 million2 kirana stores (small grocery shops) selling CPGs, that represent nearly 75%3 of the country’s consumer goods market. The CPG retail market is characterized by a wide network of MSMEs, with small retailers and distributors facing numerous challenges including supply chain disruptions, inefficient inventory management, delays in payments against procurement, and lack of access to financial services that can help them overcome recurring capital requirements. The credit gap in the MSME industry in India is estimated at approximately $230 billion4.

Bizom works with over 8 million retailers, 200,000 distributors and more than 600 brands operating in the CPG industry to automate route-to-market (RTM) operations. Bizom’s SaaS platform provides real-time visibility to sellers into ground operations, informing them of products’ market demand and enabling sales. Bizom’s Distiman is a marketplace to connect small retailers with distributors and sellers, providing the former with reliable procurement channels to source inventory.

“We, at Bizom, believe in the future of retail where mom-and-pop shops are digitally empowered to serve consumers who are going online,” said Lalit Bhise, CEO of Bizom. “Our partnership with Accion is helping speed up our reach to these millions of retailers by clearly defining the need and enabling the right go-to-market channels.”

For more than six decades, Accion has worked alongside local partners around the world, providing investment and advisory services to develop and scale responsible financial solutions for small business owners. Accion Advisory will provide strategic consultancy support to help Bizom expand its network of retailers and distributors using Distiman, Bizom’s retailer app, and develop scalable and cost-effective credit offerings to allow small retailers to access formal financial services at reduced costs to purchase inventory and meet their working capital requirements.

Victoria White, Managing Director, Accion Advisory, said, “India is a world leader in digital transformation, and the small business owners that contribute significantly to its economy must not be left behind. Through this partnership, we aim to leverage Bizom’s retail intelligence platform and Accion’s expertise in building customer-centric financial products to connect millions of micro enterprises to the digital financial ecosystem, paving the way for sustainable growth in one of the world’s fastest growing economies.”

This initiative is part of Accion’s ongoing partnership with the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth that aims to help over 10.5 million people, including women entrepreneurs, actively use digital financial services to improve their financial health by 2026. Between 2019 and 2022, the partnership helped 12.8 million people globally, including nearly six million MSEs, benefit from digital financial services. The multi-year program is part of a global commitment by Mastercard to connect one billion individuals and 50 million small businesses to the digital economy by 2025.

“India’s micro and small retailers play a vital role in generating employment and furthering economic growth. That’s why it’s important that they are equipped with the right digital tools and solutions that help them overcome operational hurdles and record business growth. This collaboration underscores Mastercard’s long-standing commitment of supporting this segment with digital adoption and credit access,” said Vikas Varma, Chief Operating Officer, South Asia at Mastercard.

Subhashini Chandran, Senior Vice President, Social Impact, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, said: “Since its inception a decade ago, the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth has been leveraging the company’s competencies to advance equitable and sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion around the world. In the last six years, the Center has helped connect over 40 million small businesses — 60% of which are women-owned — to financial services and other resources to support their resilience and growth. This collaboration will help power financial access and usage of small businesses at the last mile in one of the fastest-growing countries in the world. The Center is excited to partner with Accion and Bizom to bring small businesses into the digital economy.”