• Published on 28 September 2020
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OneSME cross-border digital trade platform launches

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Singapore and China can look forward to a seamless cross-border digital trade platform with the launch of OneSME. A joint initiative by OneConnect Financial Technology (Singapore) Co. Pte. Ltd., a subsidiary of OneConnect Financial Technology Co., Ltd., the leading technology-as-a-service platform provider, and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), OneSME will serve as an all-inclusive digital hub to address SMEs’ needs to expand their business overseas in the digital economy which has become more crucial amidst the global pandemic situation. OneSME is developed and operated by OneConnect to provide digital connectivity for SMEs to transcend borders, transact securely across markets overseas, and leverage an ecosystem of services.

OneSME (previously termed as “Asian SME Hub”) is one of the initiatives under the Singapore-China (Shenzhen) Smart City Initiative (SCI) where eight memorandums of understanding (MOUs) were signed during its first Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) meeting held virtually in June 2020 – a move aimed at enabling enterprises and individuals to have greater ease of access to market opportunities in the Greater Bay Area and Southeast Asia via digital connectivity.

Through OneConnect’s electronic know-your-customer (eKYC) solution, OneSME is able to ensure that all companies and products on the platform are validated during the onboarding process. Its eKYC technology accelerates the process of accrediting companies and products by utilising data points from trusted sources such as government registries. The eKYC outcomes will be recorded on the blockchain, encrypted and signed to preserve the confidentiality and security of the data. This way, SMEs can receive reliable and secure information on the companies and products on the platform.

In addition, the platform has built-in smart business matching algorithm, powered by OneConnect, that matches the demand and supply of products and services between buyers and sellers. Please refer to Annex B for details on the functionalities of OneSME.

Helping SMEs tap into new overseas market opportunities

OneSME seeks to help businesses leverage growth opportunities in today’s digital economy. The platform has welcomed Singapore SMEs that are selling industrial hardware, chemicals, safety, medical and office supplies on Eezee.sg, to be connected with a buyer base of four million SMEs on OneConnect YiQiYe SME ecosystem in China. Eezee.sg is a B2B procurement platform that is supported by IMDA and Enterprise Singapore (ESG) under the Grow Digital initiative. OneConnect YiQiYe is a one-stop platform that provides financing, insurance and cash management solutions to SMEs in China.

An ecosystem of partners to meet SMEs’ financing and business needs

To support SMEs in their trading activities, SMEs can thrive together and forge collaborations with multiple partners on the platform such as data providers, financial institutions, as well as intellectual property rights advisory services, training and other service providers.

United Overseas Bank (UOB), recognised as the best bank in Asia for helping SMEs achieve their growth ambitions, is the financial services partner to OneSME.

UOB and OneConnect signed an MOU which will see the bank provide its holistic suite of banking and digital solutions through the OneSME platform. These solutions will help SMEs in their collections and payments, trade financing, foreign exchange and working capital needs. SMEs will be able to apply for financing directly on the OneSME platform, thus making it easier for them to access the funds needed to seize business opportunities in China.

The bank will also support the SMEs in their digitalisation efforts through solutions such as UOB BizSmart, a cloud-based, integrated digital solution. UOB will also promote OneSME to its customers as part of its efforts to help them seize cross-border opportunities.

Other ecosystem partners already on OneSME include Bizmann System, GeTS, IPOS,IPOS International, SCCCI, Eezee.sg, and OneConnect YiQiYe. More partners will be added to the digital community as it grows.

Connecting more SMEs across borders

OneSME is set to become a living community that celebrates the interconnectivity of Asian SMEs growing and thriving together in the new digital economy. In the future, OneSME will assist SMEs from other Asian countries to set up their presence in Singapore, and connect Singapore SMEs to other Asian markets such as in The Philippines and Malaysia.

Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker