The Zhejiang province capital of Hangzhou is hailing the success of a digital finance platform that uses big data technology to improve financial inclusion for smaller businesses in the region.
As of the end of June the Hangzhou eRong (Hangzhou e-Finance) (杭州e融) platform had provided over 100 billion yuan in funds to small and micro-enterprises in the area. Nearly 95% of the 35,000 loans it has provided consist of micro-loans of under 10 million yuan.
Hangzhou eRong was first launched by the Hangzhou municipal financial authorities as a “comprehensive financial services platform,” enabling users to apply for micro-loans via an app that can approve sums of up to 300,000 yuan in as little as five minutes.
The Hangzhou government in collaboration with the Hangzhou branch of the Chinese central bank have also established Hangzhou Credit Co., Ltd. (杭州征信有限公司), to provide specialist big data processing services to eRong based on data acquired from over 30 government agencies, including the local industrial and commercial department and taxation authority.
