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Bangalore, 26 October 2023 – TASConnect, a Singapore-based working capital solutions Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform has launched in India to enhance international trade in the country. Through its SaaS offerings, TASConnect unlocks efficiencies and economics in working capital management by enhancing scalability, visibility, and cross-border connectivity for domestic and multi-national businesses globally. TASConnect is wholly owned and incubated through SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s innovation and venture capital arm.

According to India’s Ministry of Commerce & Industry, merchandise exports have reached the highest ever annual exports of US$447.46 billion with 6.03% growth during FY 2022-2023. Service exports are projected to set a new record annual value of US$322.72 billion, making India a pivotal market for TASConnect.

Over the next 12 months, the platform plans to expand its Global Technology Hub in Bangalore to develop solutions tailored to subsidiaries of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) and large domestic enterprises. The platform also plans to onboard additional foreign and domestic financial institutions and establish partnerships with key technology hyper-scalers.

TASConnect is focusing on key growth pillars within the Indian economy such as manufacturing, automotive, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), retail, healthcare, logistics and their respective sub-industries.

Convergence as a service
TASConnect builds convergent platforms for suppliers, buyers and financial institution ecosystems of enterprises by digitally bridging treasury organisations to their global value chains. With TASConnect, Indian enterprises can now seamlessly expand their procurement and exports to cross-border suppliers and buyers; access more working capital financing programmes; gain better visibility and control of their supply chain financial health; and achieve better cash conversion cycles.

Interoperability in our solution
TASConnect’s universal adapter solution enables the smooth integration of multiple front and back-end systems, connecting fragmented ecosystems – anchor clients, suppliers, buyers and financiers – which allows key decision makers to:

1.   Seamlessly run multi-bank financing programs using a single interface
2.  Democratise availability of working capital liquidity through better access to financing programmes 
3.  Digitise and automate bespoke enterprise treasury workflows with enriched analytics and enhanced business & CFO insights
4.  Co-create innovative ESG-linked solutions with enterprises to achieve Scope 1,2,3 and other Net-Zero commitments

MNCs and large domestic enterprises in India can unlock substantial value through digital transformations facilitated by SaaS platforms like TASConnect.

TASConnect achieved a record of processing US$19 billion in financed invoices within two years. With strategic clients like Lenovo, Syngenta and partnerships with technology providers such as NEC APAC, TASConnect aspires to facilitate growth in India’s domestic and cross-border trade.

Kingshuk Ghoshal, CEO, TASConnect said “We are thrilled to support SMEs to embark on digital transformations in India’s enterprise treasury and supply chain ecosystems. As the world’s fifth-largest economy, India holds a pivotal role for TASConnect’s strategic vision, given our strong Asia footprint and focus. Our treasury automation and digital working capital solutions will empower enterprises to unleash greater efficiencies in managing their ecosystems along with enriched business intelligence through AI-led predictive analytics.”

Aditya Sharma, Head of Markets and Financial Institutions and Chief India Representative, TASConnect said “We are aligned with the Make in India initiative aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing and doubling exports to US$1.5 trillion, contributing to the overall US$5 trillion GDP. With scalable solutions from our platform and facilitation of deeper integration with global trade, our goal is to rank amongst the top three working capital finance platforms for cross-border trade in India. We are committed to India and have established our Global Technology Hub in the country along with making substantial investments in technology, talent, and infrastructure. TASConnect is here for the long term and excited to be a part of India’s remarkable growth story.”

About TASConnect
Headquartered in Singapore, TASConnect is a wholly owned subsidiary of SC Ventures Holdings Limited and incubated through SC Ventures – Standard Chartered’s innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm. We are a leading working capital solutions platform connecting complex enterprise ecosystems to deliver economic value with end-to-end visibility and control. We are firm believers in the principles of co-creation and collaboration with our clients.
For more information, please visit tasconnect.com

Press Contact
Alex Lixuan Lim
alex.lim@tasconnect.com

Adfactors PR
Ritika Kar
+91 9711306380
ritika.kar@adfactorspr.com

Yashika Sharma
+91 9319349696
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Singapore, 05 September 2023 – NEC Asia Pacific (NEC APAC), the regional headquarters of leading information and communications technology provider NEC Corporation (HQ: Japan) in Southeast Asia, signed a strategic agreement with TASConnect, a wholly owned subsidiary of SC Ventures Holdings Limited – Standard Chartered’s innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm – to develop a joint technology solution that seeks to revolutionise the way organisations measure, monitor, manage and enhance financial performance, ultimately driving sustainable growth and improving their organization’s working capital efficiency.

Through this collaboration, NEC APAC and TASConnect will provide organisations with powerful real-time analytics tools, together with TASConnect’s comprehensive working capital management platform-as-a-service to make informed decisions, thereby enhancing financial efficiency. This partnership represents a powerful synergy between both organizations, united by a shared vision of transforming financial management practices.

Through NEC Financial Insights

One of the core components of this technology tool supported by NEC APAC is a single-window visualisation of crucial financial health metrics, enabling organizations to gain real-time insights into their organisation’s financial performance. Additionally, key decision makers can set key performance indicators (KPIs) related to working capital and other vital financial metrics. Performance against these KPIs can then be accurately tracked and measured.

Furthermore, organizations will have the ability to compare their organization’s financial performance against industry benchmarks, facilitating a deeper understanding of their competitive standing. In-depth diagnostics and root cause analysis tools are also incorporated, assisting decision makers in identifying the underlying factors influencing their financial health. Most importantly, organizations will receive actionable recommendations tailored to each organisation’s unique situation, facilitating the improvement of financial metrics and overall operational efficiency.

Through TASConnect: Enhancing Working Capital Management

TASConnect enhances scalability, efficiency and transparency of enterprise value chain finance programs, particularly in accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR). Organizations can realise a scalable and seamless expansion in their finance programs, which is achieved through better access to diversified liquidity sources, connection to multi-parties, better value chain data analytics and the automation of complex workflows.

TASConnect’s platform also enables improved yields of trapped or idle treasury cash – a critical aspect of working capital management. By optimizing idle cash, organizations can achieve enhanced working capital cycles and drive efficiencies in their financial operations.

NEC Financial Insights capabilities, together with TASConnect’s enhanced working capital solutions offered on its cloud-based platform-as-a-service, promises to be a game-changer for organizations seeking to unlock sustainable economic value in their finance and treasury functions.

Mr Michio Kotegawa, Senior Vice President, NEC APAC, said, “We are thrilled about the potential impact of this collaboration with TASConnect. Through this partnership, we are equipping organizations with the tools they need to navigate the complexities of modern finance and drive sustainable growth.”

“We are bringing the best to our clients by partnering with the best in the industry,” said Mr Kingshuk Ghoshal, Co-founder and CEO of TASConnect. “We are honoured to join hands with NEC Asia Pacific to deliver smarter business intelligence and comprehensive analytics to our clients for enhanced decision values.”

About NEC Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.

Singapore-based NEC Asia Pacific (NEC APAC) is the regional headquarters for NEC Corporation (HQ: Japan) in Southeast Asia. As a leading information and communications technology provider, NEC APAC provides innovative solutions and infrastructure to promote safety, security and enhance the quality of life for individuals and the community. NEC APAC’s expertise includes solutions for carrier networks, biometric identification, enterprise applications and infrastructure, unified communications, transportation solutions, multimedia displays and smart energy, as well as the provision of managed services and contact centre services.

Together with our research laboratories, NEC APAC provides cutting-edge public safety, cybersecurity technologies and enterprise solutions to enable safer cities, with a vision to create a brighter future. For more information, please visit https://sg.nec.com.

About TASConnect

Headquartered in Singapore, TASConnect is a wholly owned subsidiary of SC Ventures Holdings Limited and incubated through SC Ventures – Standard Chartered’s innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm. We are a leading working capital solutions platform connecting complex enterprise ecosystems to deliver economic value with end-to-end visibility and control. We are firm believers in the principles of co-creation and collaboration with our clients.

For more information, please visit http://www.tasconnect.com

PRESS CONTACTS:

NEC Asia Pacific

Bevan Chen

+65 9615 7590

bevan_chen@nec.com.sg

TASConnect

Alex Lixuan Lim

+65 9788 6757

alex.lim@tasconnect.com

Following TASConnect’s recent launch in Vietnam with the aim of providing digital working capital finance solutions, the fintech announces the successful signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Vietnam Prosperity Joint-Stock Commercial Bank (“VPBank”), a prominent financial institution in Vietnam.

This strategic collaboration marks a significant milestone for both entities as they join forces to unlock new opportunities and catalyse growth within the dynamic Vietnam market.

The MOU signifies the commitment of TASConnect and VPBank to collaborate and leverage their expertise to address the evolving needs of businesses and industries in Vietnam. The collaboration aims to propel the growth of the region’s growing economy by harnessing the power of innovation, technology, and financial solutions.

Aditya Sharma, Head of Financial Institution and Markets at TASConnect, commented: “This partnership marks an exciting chapter for TASConnect. By joining forces with VPBank, we are equipped to provide comprehensive financial solutions to our corporates and SME suppliers and buyers/distributors in Vietnam through our digital platform, empowering them to seize new growth opportunities and navigate the complexities of the evolving market. Our combined strengths create a unique value proposition that will undoubtedly drive positive outcomes for businesses in the region.”

CEO of TASConnect, Kingshuk Ghoshal said: “We are thrilled to collaborate with VPBank and embark on this transformative journey together. Our strategic collaboration represents a harmonious fusion of expertise, and shared values. This alliance will not only bolster our presence in Vietnam but also serve as a model for how businesses can come together to drive sustainable growth and create lasting impact in the communities we operate in.”

Commenting on the collaboration, Ms. Võ Hằng Phương, Head of Financial Markets and Transaction Banking, said:” The cooperation with TASConnect affirms VPBank’s commitment to increase digital platform and solutions in its products and services. This collaboration is part of VPBank’s strategy to expand its ecosystem, bringing e-banking services to all technology platforms that are available to customers.”

The MOU places significant emphasis on supporting Vietnam’s vibrant supply chain community of SME suppliers and distributors, recognizing its crucial role in the nation’s economic growth. The collaboration will address key challenges faced by supply chain stakeholders, support the local SME community, and implement solutions to enhance resilience, visibility, and sustainability within Vietnam’s enterprise value chain ecosystems.

About VPBank

As one of the earliest joint-stock commercial banks established in Vietnam, Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) has a history of sustainable development for 30 years with businesses ranging across retail, corporate, consumer finance and wealth management operations. VPBank is currently one of the leading commercial banks in Vietnam in terms of efficiency and profitability. It is also a pioneer in digital transformation with the aim to provide customers with the best and most convenient financial products and services.

As at 31/12/2022, VPBank achieved approximately USD 27billion of total assets, operating with 251 branches across the country. VPBank is one the bank with strong and solid capital foundation in Vietnam. With a CAR ratio of approximately 15%, VPBank is not only far exceeds capital adequacy regulations but also significantly strengthens its balance sheet and catalyze strong growth in the future. The Bank’s profit before tax reached USD 1billion for the year 2022, posting impressive growth of 48% year-on-year.

About TASConnect

TASConnect is a bank, industry and Enterprise Resource Planning system (“ERP”) agnostic SaaS platform connecting complex enterprise ecosystems to unlock sustainable economic value with visibility and control. The platform significantly enhances efficiencies in accounts payable and accounts receivable financing programmes; enabling access to increased working capital sources; automating and simplifying complex workflows; and allowing businesses control of their programmes securely and sustainably. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of SC Ventures Holdings Limited, and incubated by SC Ventures, the fintech and investment arm of Standard Chartered.

Manufacturers and large enterprises are under tremendous pressure to ramp up ESG performance, grow employment in their home countries, and diversify supply chain risk. These are profound changes for the industry, and almost impossible to navigate without digital transformation.

In order to help our customers meet the challenge head on, TASConnect and #dltledgers executed Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) to bring a blockchain enabled class-leading technology solution set to our clients, allowing enterprises to diversify, manage and scale their physical and financial supply chain programmes and operations seamlessly.

“TASConnect is delighted to partner #dltledgers for value-added client solutions” said Kingshuk Ghoshal, co-founder and CEO of TASConnect. “The blockchain based physical supply chain solutions of #dltledgers along with the transformation solutions of TASConnect provide enhanced synergies to our common enterprise clients and banks.”

Besides improving digital transparency for better resilience and agility, the collaboration seeks to enable smart traceability of ESG metrics for compliance and capture needs of clients beyond their enterprise systems to their supply chain ecosystems.

“#dltledgers is working with large enterprises to digitalise their physical, transactional and financial supply chain. We are excited to announce our partnership with TASConnect as they bring added capabilities that our Customers’ often require around working capital finance across Financial Supply Chain.” said Farooq Siddiqi, CEO of #dltledgers. “With ready-to-use apps across Manufacturing, Banking and Finance, Commodities and Logistics, we are excited to jointly position Sustainability Visibility and Financing Apps to our joint customers working with talented TASConnect team.”

About TASConnect

Headquartered in Singapore, TASConnect is a wholly owned subsidiary of SC Ventures Holdings Limited and incubated through SC Ventures – Standard Chartered’s innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm. We are a leading working capital solutions platform connecting complex enterprise ecosystems to deliver economic value with end-to-end visibility and control. We are firm believers in the principles of co-creation and collaboration with our clients.

For more information, please visit http://www.tasconnect.com

About #dltledgers

#dltledgers, headquartered in Singapore, is a “no-code” expanded supply chain and digitization platform which uses blockchain technology to deliver industry-leading multi-enterprise supply chain business networks (MESCBNs). The platform focuses on “Digitization, Collaboration, and Authentication,” focused on delivering three key pillars of trust, privacy, and security. Over 4,000 businesses use the platform, participating in, financing, or supporting cross-border trades and executing over $4 bn-worth of transactions. #dltledgers’ integrated digital solution delivers transparency, visibility & adequate risk monitoring in real-time. Our clients are mainly large international trading firms, corporates, supply chain firms, and banks.

For more information, please visit http://www.dltledgers.com

TASConnect, a SaaS supply chain fintech platform incubated through SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm, is looking to address Vietnam’s underserved supply chain finance market, which is forecasted to reach US$35 billion by the end of 2024.

“Riding on the tailwind of government efforts to digitise processes and improve the sourcing of accurate data, TASConnect will work with Vietnamese financial institutions, MNCs and regional banks to enhance Vietnam’s supply chain finance market,” said Kingshuk Ghoshal, co-founder and CEO, TASConnect. “TASConnect’s solution, which digitalises transactions between corporations and their trading partners, helps companies to expand their scale and scope of supply chain financing without incurring high capital expenditure on IT or human resources.”

Vietnam’s gross domestic product faces a 70% financing gap, even as the economy is benefiting from recent shifts in the global supply chain. This has led more Vietnamese conglomerates and MNCs to demand innovative solutions to unlock trapped liquidity in accounts payable and receivable, so they can scale better into cross-border supply chains.

TASConnect’s bank-agnostic SaaS supply chain finance platform is ready-to-deploy and easy to configure to suit diverse client business models and industries. The fintech’s solution unlocks value for organisations by enhancing efficiencies in accounts payable and receivable transactions, enabling access to increased funding sources, automating complex workflows, thereby giving businesses greater control of their processes. TASConnect offers holistic, customisable and multi-funder solutions for accounts payable and accounts receivable transaction throughout the supply and distribution chain. The fintech also provides value-added services beyond digitalisation and working capital, including, Know Your Customer checks, payments and foreign exchange conversion services, capabilities that are provided by third party solutions providers. Since the company’s launch in February 2022, TASConnect has integrated with large enterprises and regional banks, handling over 250,000 transactions while achieving a gross transaction value of over US$13 billion up to date.

“TASConnect’s mission is to democratise working capital finance,” Ghoshal said. “Unlike conventional bank offerings that are anchored on secured lending and legacy commercial credit processes, that lack seamless digital onboarding and servicing models, TASConnect offers an easy-to-deploy solution that can be customized for a wide variety of businesses.”

Large MNCs can leverage TASConnect to connect their value chain ‘last-miles’ to wider pools of funding sources to scale their supply chain networks sustainably. TASConnect’s platform provides increased visibility of commercial trade data, which allows traditional financiers to make better credit decisions when offering supply chain financing solutions.

About TASConnect
Headquartered in Singapore, Trade and Supply Chain Connect (TASConnect) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank and incubated through SC Ventures – the Bank’s innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm.  

We are a leading technology solution provider for trade and supply chain finance automation, which gives organisations and their value-chain partners better access to liquidity, along with end-to-end digitalization, visibility, and control of their trade ecosystem. At TASConnect, we are firm believers in the principles of co-creation and collaboration with our clients.  
For more information, please visit www.tasconnect.com. Follow TASConnect on LinkedIn.

About Standard Chartered
Standard Chartered is a leading international banking group, with a presence in 59 of the world’s most dynamic markets and serving clients in a further 64. Our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, and our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, here for good.

Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges.

For more stories and expert opinions please visit Insights at sc.com. Follow Standard Chartered on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

TASConnect has been selected as one of the top 20 hottest startups of 2023 by Singapore Business Review.

Kingshuk Ghoshal and Sujay S K

Co-founders: Kingshuk Ghoshal, Sujay S K
Total funding: US$6M
Founding year: 2022

The bank-agnostic trade and supply chain finance platform was incubated through SC Ventures, Standard Chartered Bank’s innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm. It began commercial operations in the second quarter of 2022. TASConnect offers enterprises and financial institutions with scalable, customisable, and multi-funder solutions for Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable by enabling the availability of working capital to last-mile suppliers and buyers in efficient and cost-effective ways. In 2022, the platform achieved revenue-generating status, recording a gross transaction value of more than US$10b by handling over 225,000 invoices. Amongst the platform’s pioneer clients is Lenovo.

SEE FULL LIST: 20 Hottest Startups of 2023

About Singapore Business Review

Singapore Business Review (SBR) is the definitive magazine for Singapore’s business elite. Founded in 2001, SBR is the only local business magazine in Singapore guaranteed to reach senior decision makers in the top 1,700 companies with combined sales of S$692 billion and 94% of listed companies.

Its print platform is published quarterly with circulation of 25,000 copies, while its online arm sbr.com.sg offers daily fresh and unique content with over 170,000 unique active users every month.

Singapore Business Review is part of the media company, “Charlton Media Group”, a leading B2B publication and events company in Asia with titles such as Hong Kong Business, Asian Banking & Finance, Insurance Asia, Asian Power, and Healthcare Asia.

SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm, announced the launch of Trade and Supply Chain Connect (TASConnect), a bank agnostic supply chain finance platform that unlocks significant value for organisations, by providing end to end automation, visibility and control of their trade and supply chain ecosystems.

TASConnect, based out of Singapore, aims to be a leading provider of automated trade and supply chain financing solutions, which gives organisations and their ecosystems better access to liquidity and working capital management. It is designed to improve cash flow within supply chains through four key capabilities:

• • • Significantly enhancing efficiencies in accounts payable and receivable financing programmes
    • Enabling access to increased working capital sources
    • Automating and simplifying bespoke and complex workflows
    • Allowing businesses control of their own programmes in a secure and sustainable manner

TASConnect is based on principles of co-creation and collaboration with clients to address their pain points of managing large, fragmented, and opaque supply chain finance processes. Lenovo, Gartner Top 25 Global Supply Chain company, is one of TASConnect’s pioneer clients. The platform will help organisations to efficiently simplify complex connections with their multiple value-chain partners, including suppliers, buyers and banks. By retaining control and visibility of their ecosystems, companies will be empowered by TASConnect to customise processes and gain efficiency and value from their supply chains. Each organisation is also provided with an independent data tenancy and a customised site hosted in the cloud, thereby conforming to the highest standards of security. The unique combination of a fully automated platform, with partner integration and ease of customisation, makes this a differentiated and unique solution.

Alex Manson of SC Ventures said: “We work closely with corporates to understand their business and challenges. TASConnect is a result of the client co-creation process that aims to realise value by connecting ecosystems with trust and trade.”

As one of TASConnect’s anchor client, Lenovo has greatly benefitted in improving on its supply chain financing efficiency, operations and workflow.

Hugh Wu, Global Treasury Head of Lenovo, said: “TASConnect helped us transform and fully automate our previously manual supply chain finance processes. The platform is customised to integrate all our financing banks and replicate our own workflows. Our Treasury function is now empowered with end-to-end visibility and control, all via one single platform.”

At launch, TASConnect will offer accounts payable and accounts receivable management solutions, focusing on large corporate organisations. As part of roadmap, TASConnect is adding capabilities powered by artificial intelligence, machine learning and blockchain, along with ESG traceability to bring greater value to businesses.

For more information, visit our website at http://www.tasconnect.com/. Please contact our team at info@tasconnect.com for further enquires.