Singapore's StarHub and Prudential jointly announced a partnership to launch a digital trade platform for SMEs using blockchain technology.
Dubbed as Fasttrack Trade (FTT), the platform will allow SMEs to seek business partners and distributors, buy and sell goods, track shipments, receive and make payments, access financing and buy insurance via a single platform.
The partnership between Prudential and StarHub is the beginning of a broader plan to create a digital B2B marketplace powered by StarHub. This will bring together a network of service providers across multiple industries to support the business expansion of SMEs.
Under the partnership, StarHub will offer its enterprise customers access to FTT’s services while Prudential will offer insurance to help them mitigate business risks. The platform also provides alternative financing options to SMEs through Funding Societies, a peer-to-peer lender. More service providers in areas ranging from financing, business intelligence, payments and logistics are expected to join the FTT by the time it is commercially launched in the first quarter of 2018.
Every transaction on FTT is recorded and traceable, making it not only safer but also faster and cheaper for SMEs to conduct trade transactions and access financing.
Dr Chong Yoke Sin, Chief of Enterprise Business Group, Starhub
At StarHub, we ease adoption of digital solutions for enterprises by integrating partner solutions into our digital platform of offerings, to propel businesses in the digital economy. Our solutions in data analytics, cyber security, IoT and AI are integrated into value-added services offered through our digital platforms to enable enterprises to easily conduct business.
