COSMI and LIRIDI introduce ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ to revive small-scale businesses

The MoU being exchanged between Nawaz Rajabdeen - President, COSMI and Kirill Maluka - Founder/CEO, Liridi Ltd. Also present (from left): Samantha Abeywickrama - Consultant Projects and Foreign Trade, COSMI, Indhra Kaushal Rajapaksa - Vice President, COSMI,  Macky Hashim - Chairman, Governing Council, COSMI, Muditha Hettigama - Country Manager, Liridi Lanka, and Tenali Nanayakkara - Business Development Executive, Liridi Lanka

A novel business model called ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ was launched recently by LIRIDI Lanka (Pvt) Ltd in Sri Lanka to support micro and small businesses. 

This model will be especially beneficial to the small businesses that have been affected by the pandemic.
The project for expanding the model countrywide is initiated by Confederation of Micro, Small and Medium Industries (COSMI) together with LIRIDI Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, and signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two parties took place in Colombo recently. 

The aim of the partnership is to revive small-scale businesses under COSMI’s ‘Back-to-Business’ post-pandemic enterprise revival programme.

This project, which was initiated by Nilu Rajapakse, Secretary General of COSMI will enable many micro and small-scale businesses to obtain the required working capital to buy the goods and services quickly whenever they need without collateral on a loan basis and pay back in installment wise. 

Liridi Lanka Private Limited a fully owned subsidiary of a UK based fintech company LIRIDI Ltd is the local implementation company of the project. The company which is linked to microfinance institutions under the BNPL concept, partnered with COSMI to launch this program in Sri Lanka.

According to the MoU, the benefits will be available to all entrepreneurs countrywide, with especial focus to members of chambers of commerce and business organizations affiliated to the COSMI, which will enable micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to revive their businesses due to various reasons without any issues pertaining to normal banking loans.

The MoU was signed on behalf of the COSMI by its Governing Council Chairman Macky Hashim and President Nawaz Rajabdeen, while LIRIDI Founder/CEO Kiril Maluka and LIRIDI Lanka Director/Country Manager Muditha Hettigama signed for LIRIDI. COSMI Vice President Kaushal Rajapaksa was also present at the ceremony.

This facility is available to micro and small business owners through suppliers of products and services who need to maintain their supply chain for their businesses without any collateral. 

Any supplier could join the LIRIDI network at any time at zero connection cost and provide their products and services to the small business owners. By joining a supplier could accelerate his sales with their existing customers and new untapped market. Further will reduce the operational cost considerably
COSMI says the project will benefit about 1.5 million micro-enterprises (SMEs) who run micro/small-scale enterprises as their livelihoods.  This category often includes businesses that have less than five employees.