In a world where SMEs represent over 90% of all business and are responsible for more than 50% of employment, it’s sad that these key economic players struggle with financing. The problem lies with having no relationship with a financer, lack of stable and historical credit history, and small quantum, which means fewer profits for banks. This limits financing options an SME has, but this narrative is fast changing thanks to ShuttleOne, a DeFi protocol serving businesses. The platform is working on helping businesses and industries adapt to decentralized finance, thereby enjoying its speed, transparency, and security by easily integrating DeFi services into their business operation.
How ShuttleOne is Using Blockchain To Service SMEs
ShuttleOne uses blockchain to service the global supply chain ecosystem with unbiased credit scoring and real-world assets tokenization. This is possible in partnership with CALISTA Finance, thereby helping ShuttleOne service over $560,000 in assets tokenization value under its network in June. As for assets that are being tokenized, they lie in a wide range of anything within the supply chain from trade inventories in food, health and beauty, and toys. Also, there are high-value assets such as steel and machinery. These assets are tokenized using the platform’s NFT token $RAT.
The tokenization is published on-chain; that way, it can be assessed to gauge the borrower’s financial health and avoid double collateralizing a single asset. The greatest beneficiaries have been SMEs, who have received loans amounting to over $120,000. According to a company statement, the platform is proud to finance businesses based on their trade assets and invoice using stablecoin liquidity pools on its protocol.
The financing is in line with the project’s goal of serving the unbanked and underserved with unbiased credit scoring, where value loans take place quickly. So far, a business can expect to receive loans worth anywhere from $500 to $50,000. The amount might seem small, but it can be a lifesaver, especially for SMEs.
Interestingly, most of the project’s borrowers are businesses engaged in commodities, logistics, and construction within Asia. ShuttleOne is also financing a few businesses that need capital to maintain and acquire long-term assets, which should help their businesses grow even faster.
Even though the company is proud of the kind of financial support it can afford SMEs in the region, more can be done. Even though most of the platform’s borrowers are located in Asia, ShuttleOne can finance SMEs on a global scale. Its current capabilities can allow financing of SMEs in over 60 nations around the world, including countries in Africa, America, Middle East, and Europe. With this in mind, the company is working on reaching SMEs in those locations by introducing them to the new financing model from decentralized finance.
Plans To Grow Loan to Value Rate
The company also aims to grow its loan to value rate as the demand for trade financing from the global trade ecosystem grows. ShuttleOne believes it can service over $58 million within this ecosystem. The June figures represent only 22% of its loans to asset value offered to borrowers. The figure would have been a bit higher if it wasn’t it, for the lack of liquidity in its stablecoin pools. Unfortunately, the company had to turn down businesses requesting over $1 million and even offer smaller amounts to borrowers. To achieve its goal, the company needs the help of the crypto community to participate in pools and help grow liquidity.
Interestingly, ShuttleOne offers a diversification option for most crypto investors who can earn and enjoy higher rates than in most markets while minimizing the risks associated with crypto volatility through its stablecoin backed by real-world assets.
