MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Tech business-to-business (B2B) platform Growsari has bagged the Innovation in Digital Commercial Financing Award at the 2022 BAI Global Innovation Awards and was the only Asian and Philippine startup to receive the award.
BAI, a nonprofit independent organization that delivers the most actionable insights in financial services, named Growsari as one of the 10 organizational winners for innovating financial technology in MSMEs. Joining Growsari in the innovation awards were Union Bank of India, Bank of America, Banco Popular of Puerto Rico, Dreams Technology of Sweden, and other bank institutions across the globe.
“Innovation is a significant driver of the impact that successful financial services companies have on their customers and communities. The industry continues to bring powerful new approaches and solutions to better meet customer needs in new and different ways,” said Debbie Bianucci, President and CEO of BAI and Innovation Circle Judge.
Growsari was recognized for empowering and elevating the sari-sari (mom-and-popup) store ecosystem into a one-stop community services hub with a wide assortment of affordable products and e-services such as telco loading, bills payment, wallet cash-in, and remittances. In its pursuit of innovation in financial technology, the B2B platform developed a financial services arm that could qualify these stores for short-term credit and digitized payments that would mitigate cash handling.
“We are very honored to be recognized and receive this prestigious Innovation in Digital Commercial Financing Award from BAI Global! The Growsari team will continue to press and solve in our mission to help more retail stores and MSME’s with the convenience of ordering and selling consumer goods & financial services on our platform,” shared Growsari’s Head of Financial Services, Sandeep Bhalla.
Currently, Growsari is present in 20 key provinces and 400 municipalities nationwide in the Philippines and serves more than 250,000 MSMEs and sari-sari stores. This year, Growsari also pioneered financial inclusion to reach the broader MSMEs and Filipino consumers by outfitting sari-sari stores to accept QR digital payments through the Growsari app. The tech platform is targeting to have 200,000 sari-sari stores start accepting QR PH payments by 2023.
“In the past, the Philippines hasn’t been a well-recognized market for financial technology innovation, unlike the rest of its Asian counterparts. This didn’t stop Growsari from launching a first-of-its-kind B2B marketplace in the country. So, this award is also in recognition of Filipinos’ capability to launch innovative ideas, excel in the field of entrepreneurship and shine in the start-up scene. And now, we look forward to bringing this impact to even more retail outlets nationwide,” Sandeep concluded.
