British Fintech firm Tide announces crossborder MSME Exchange Programme for Indian, UK companies

NEW DELHI: UK-based fintech platform Tide on Tuesday said it has launched an MSME Exchange Programme (MEP) to deepen entrepreneurship in small and medium enterprises and share experiences between business owners from India and the UK.

Tide aspires to reach one million members in India by 2024, against its current user base of 50,000, India CEO Gurjodhpal Singh said.

Singh said the company plans to support sixteen micro- and small-enterprises from both India and the UK for expanding their operations over the coming months. "Tide will choose two entrepreneurs/small business owners every quarter from India and the UK, and sponsor them under the MEP to visit the UK and India. A total of sixteen small businesses, eight from each country, will benefit from the programme. The programme starts in June this year and will be completed by end-May, 2024," the company said.

MEP targets ‘New-to-Business’ and ‘New-to-Digital’ micro-entrepreneurs in both countries.

Tide CEO Oliver Prill said small business owners in India and the UK have shared ambitions, including exporting their goods and services between the two countries. The MEP will deliver an exchange of ideas and know-how that small business owners from both countries can turn into concrete action.

MEP will offer Tide members information and knowledge exchange in areas including product, regulatory compliance, legal frameworks, entrepreneurship, ease of doing Business, and networking.

“UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have reiterated the huge opportunities that closer trade and investment ties offer British and Indian businesses and consumers.”

"Our investment relationship already supports nearly half a million jobs in each other's economies. Creating direct linkages between growing businesses from both countries will take us further. I congratulate Tide on adding to the India-UK success story," Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India, said.