Tradeling, the MENA’s dominant e-marketplace that focuses on business-to-business (B2B) transactions, has announced today a partnership with Wio Bank, the region’s first platform bank, for its tailored business banking solution Wio Business. The unique partnership aims to bridge the banking gap and offers innovative banking solutions to merchants, enabling microbusinesses and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to obtain credits digitally.
Wio Business seeks to offer a next-generation banking solution that is disruptive, data-native, and analytics-driven. Rebooting business banking needs in the digital age, Wio Business’s personalised features seamlessly integrate services built around SMEs’ needs.
SMEs represent 94% of the organisations operating in the UAE and make up over 50% of the country’s GDP.[1] Businesses that are operating within Tradeling’s ecosystem and sign up to bank with Wio Business through Tradeling.com, can access exclusive offerings on the banking app as part of the partnership.
Marius Ciavola, Chief Executive Officer of Tradeling, and Prateek Vahie, Chief Commercial Officer of Wio Bank signed the MoU to solidify the new partnership which intends to assist small businesses in the region digitise their banking needs with a host of benefits.
Commenting on the new partnership, Marius Ciavola said: “As the small and medium enterprise industry is such a significant part of the UAE economy, and as SMEs continue to grow throughout the Middle East, we are delighted to be partnering with Wio Bank for the betterment of the region. In an ever-evolving digital world, Wio’s banking system is bringing forth revolutionary benefits that foster business growth through buying opportunities, while simultaneously advancing the regional economy; this has been one of Tradeling’s key objectives since our inception and we look forward to taking another step in the right direction which helps us contribute to the realisation of it.”
For his part, Prateek Vahie added: “We are delighted to partner with Tradeling and tap into their vast clientele to offer access to Wio Business’s advanced financial management solutions. At Wio, we are on a mission to simplify banking for the SME community, and by providing them with propositions that take into account the challenges they face and are quintessential to their growth, we want to set a new standard for banking. We look forward to supporting Tradeling’s customers and provide them with exceptional experiences.”
The National Program for SMEs and Projects under the Ministry of Economy was established in 2014[2] to help grow and sustain their businesses in collaboration with all stakeholders. Tradeling’s partnership with Wio Bank is further strengthening this vision while reinforcing its stature as MENA’s dominant marketplace for B2B transactions.
Wio Bank officially official launched in September by offering three key capabilities, namely Digital Banking apps, Embedded Finance and Banking-as-a-Service solutions. Wio Bank’s first digital banking application Wio Business is designed to provide start-ups, freelancers, and SMEs with access to banking services seamlessly, while giving them the opportunity to move forward with innovative beyond-banking services.
