COVID-19 created opportunity to serve cash-strapped SMEs
Singapore-headquartered Instarem sees huge inbound flow of remittances into India, citing the World Bank projection that money sent home by the Indian diaspora will reach US$100 billion a year in the coming year or so, up from US$82 billion received last year.
“India is a huge inbound market for us, and we have big operations in Mumbai, which is our main technology and product centre,” Yogesh Sangle, Global Head of Instarem, said on 28 June on the increase in monies sent home regularly by the Indian diaspora.
Instarem has also grown its offices in Bangalore and Chennai, to leverage the talent in India, Sangle told Press Trust of India (PTI), pointing out that the estimated US$82 billion received in India in 2022 was the largest remittance flow in the world.nst
The app-based remittance company is setting up operations in Japan to serve Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Consumers, and has recently launched SME-support product in Indonesia.
COVID-19 had created an opportunity to service the cash-strapped SMEs.
“COVID-19 was also an opportunity for app-based remittances as people were not able to go through the conventional banking transaction due to lockdown,” PTI quoted Sangle as saying.
“The app-based network has made it easier for remittances and its use is rapidly growing.”
“Remittance market is big enough to support a lot more companies offering money transaction services. The world’s top five companies have about 15 per cent of the global market share and it needs to be consolidated. There are a lot of opportunities,” Sangle said.
Instarem is continuously working on new products, as Sangle sees a lot more headroom for growth in the fragmented global remittance market.
Sangle said Instarem, founded in Singapore by entrepreneurs with Indian-roots, has enjoyed strong growth of 30% per annum from global remittance market of US$682 billion.
Instarem, with over 130 employees in India, has market reach across 38 countries, mostly in developed economies and has developed money transaction network across 170 markets. Fiinews.com
