ANT-INTERNATIONAL
27.6.2024 07:12:29 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
On 2024 International MSME Day, Ant International, a digital payment and financial services leader, shares that it supports almost 100 million Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) worldwide across its businesses and partner programs; and reinforces its commitments towards MSME digitalization and inclusion through the expansion of its services, new programs for skills development with industry partners, and a new global campaign.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240626356788/en/
(Photo: Business Wire)
“MSMEs are the lifeblood of our economies, driving innovation, employment, and inclusive development,” said Douglas Feagin, President of Ant International. “Their resilience and entrepreneurial spirit deserve to be celebrated and nurtured. At Ant International, we firmly believe in the power of small and that small businesses can make a big impact. Fintech innovations today unlock new possibilities for small businesses to dream boldly and compete globally. Together with our partners, we want to ensure that every business and every person will have access to the knowledge, network, and digital tools to help them achieve their goals.”
Empowering growth for MSMEs through digitalization
Across its businesses, Ant International offers solutions that enable MSMEs to digitalize, opening new growth opportunities.
Alipay+, the cross-border mobile payments and marketing solutions operated by Ant International, announced an expansion of its global acceptance. As of June 2024, Alipay+ is accepted by over 90 million merchants in over 66 markets, connecting businesses to users of 30 international payment partners. With travel picking up and tourism a key driver of many local economies, this enables many small businesses to connect with global mobile-first consumers in a simple, cost-efficient manner.
A key development in driving digitalization at scale is through Alipay+’s integration with national QRs. Alipay+ is currently integrated with the national QRs of Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea, which counts MSMEs as majority of its merchants. In Singapore, Alipay+ transactions at hawker stalls have increased 52% in H1 2024, compared to H2 2023. In Malaysia and South Korea, Alipay+ transactions increased 44% and 54% respectively via PayNet and ZeroPay, in Q2 vs Q1 2024. Alipay+ also has partnerships with national QRs in Cambodia, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
As a leading provider of digital payment solutions, Antom supports merchants of all sizes, including MSMEs, across over 40 countries and regions. Through a single integration, Antom connects them to more than 250 payment methods in over 150 markets. Its D-store solution enables MSME merchants to digitalize their operations and set up an online store in just 10 minutes with zero upfront cost. Over 5000 outlets have already onboarded this solution, with average monthly transactions growing by 27% in Q2 vs Q1 2024.
In supporting MSMEs to do business globally, WorldFirst empowers more than 1 million SMEs with international payments to 200+ markets in over 100 currencies. To enable more SMEs to do cross-border trade, WorldFirst will expand to more markets in Southeast Asia and Europe this year. ANEXT Bank, a digital wholesale bank incorporated in Singapore, recently celebrated its second anniversary, with two times year-on-year increase in its customer base, of which 69% are micro businesses. To further support regional MSMEs, ANEXT Bank has introduced its second batch of SME Friends of ANEXT with forward-thinking small and growing businesses to co-create the “digital bank of tomorrow”.
Ant International has also recently unveiled bettr, a new global digital lending service to provide micro lending to MSMEs through embedded finance partnerships, further accelerating financial inclusion.
Harnessing industry partnerships to drive MSME development
Ant International believes in open industry collaboration to jointly support knowledge and skills development for MSMEs.
In Indonesia, Ant International and DANA will launch the second edition of SisBerdaya, an initiative that provides female micro entrepreneurs training, mentoring, and educational programs in business management and digital skills. Started in 2023, the first edition drew more than 2700 applicants, with 180 participants undergoing a one-month training, and grants awarded to 30 entrepreneurs.
In collaboration with the International Finance Corporation, 10x1000 Tech for Inclusion is an open learning platform to help future digital leaders develop more skills to drive greater impact within their communities. As of 2023, with the support of 40+ global strategic partners, more than 6,000 individual talents from 100+ countries and regions completed the 10x1000 learning programs, of which 90% are from developing markets and 60% work in MSMEs.
Earlier this year, Ant International launched Programme Sirius, with the support of 13 Asia Pacific fintech leaders to empower MSMEs in their transition towards sustainability, in line with the United Nationals Sustainable Development Goals.
Global campaign to ‘Embrace the power of small’
In celebration of International MSME Day, Ant International launches its “Embrace the power of small” campaign featuring three business owners and their journeys of digitalization. The business owners are:
Cholthicha Joyyangsuk (Numwan), Thailand – a micro entrepreneur in Bangkok selling Thai desserts on her tuktuk. With Alipay+, she can now easily accept mobile payments from tourists, sharing a slice of culture, while giving her access to a wider pool of customers.
Lem Cheong, The Hainan Story, Singapore – inspired by his grandma’s rich heritage and flavourful recipes, Mr Cheong aims to evolves traditional dishes, just as he evolves his business with digital tools like Antom’s D-store solution to simplify his store operations.
Lewis Ames, Wrimes Cosmetics, UK – starting with neon face paint and pivoting to pet care during the pandemic, Mr Ames uses WorldFirst to pay his suppliers and collect payments from marketplaces easily, so he can grow his business from Stevenage to the world.
These stories will be featured on out-of-home billboards, starting in Europe, in time for the UEFA EURO 2024, of which Ant International is the Official Payment Partner, and rolled out to other global markets, and also on TV and social media.
About Ant International
Headquartered in Singapore, Ant International powers the future of global commerce with digital innovation for everyone and every business to thrive. In close collaboration with partners, we support merchants of all sizes worldwide to realize their growth aspirations through a comprehensive range of tech-driven digital payment and financial services solutions.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240626356788/en/
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
IQM Secures €50M Financing to Accelerate Global Growth30.3.2026 08:00:00 CEST | Press release
€50 million financing package from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock will support IQM to scale operations, accelerate product development, and strengthen its market position. The facility will support acceleration of IQM’s technology roadmap, fuel R&D, support entry into additional markets, and advance IQM’s leadership in quantum computing as IQM prepares for public listing. IQM Finland Oy, a global leader in full-stack superconducting quantum computers (“IQM”, “IQM Quantum Computers” or the “Company”), today announced it has secured a €50 millionfinancing package from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260329996942/en/ IQM Radiance quantum computer is located in IQM's showroom in Espoo, Finland. This facility will support acceleration of IQM’s technology roadmap, fuel R&D, support entry into additional markets, and advance IQM’s leadership in quantum computing. This
Bureau Veritas and Trade Technologies Join Forces to Streamline Global Trade Operations30.3.2026 07:45:00 CEST | Press release
Bureau Veritas, a global leader in Testing, Inspection, and Certification services (TIC), through its Swiss branch Government Services Division, is pleased to announce a strategic agreement with Trade Technologies, the leading provider of trade finance automation, connectivity and transaction management services. This collaboration is a significant step toward reducing the complexities of international trade operations, particularly in regions where regulatory and inspection controls remain stringent. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260329411683/en/ Addressing Critical Trade Finance Challenges The agreement comes at a pivotal time for global trade. Letters of Credit (LCs) continue to serve as essential instruments in international commerce, particularly across the Middle East and Africa, where counterparty risk, foreign exchange controls, sanctions exposure, and regulatory oversight face ongoing challenges. In
Consortium Led by Axelspace Selected for Japan’s Space Strategy Fund Project “Technology to Enhance Capability of Next Generation Earth Observation Satellites”30.3.2026 01:35:00 CEST | Press release
~ Creating Climate Solutions and New Market Opportunities through Source-Specific CO2 Emission and Uptake Monitoring via Satellite Constellation and Aircraft ~ Axelspace Corporation, Meisei Electric Co., Ltd., ANA HOLDINGS INC., and JIJ Inc. are pleased to announce that their jointly proposed technology development project has been selected for Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)’s Space Strategy Fund under the theme “Technology to Enhance Capability of Next Generation Earth Observation Satellites.” This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260323044518/en/ Conceptual Diagram of the project. Under this Space Strategy Fund initiative, spectrometers will be newly developed and demonstrated in orbit. In the future, the project envisions the establishment of a satellite constellation capable of observations at different times of the day. Project Summary (Planned) Technology Development Theme: Technology to Enhance Cap
Incyte Announces New Positive 54-Week Late-Breaking Data for Povorcitinib in Hidradenitis Suppurativa at the 2026 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting28.3.2026 20:00:00 CET | Press release
Phase 3 data from the STOP-HS program demonstrate povorcitinib’s substantial and durable clinical efficacy through Week 54 in patients with moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). Through Week 54, clinically meaningful and durable responses were observed across all groups in both STOP-HS1 and STOP-HS2, with up to 71.4% of patients achieving HiSCR50. Improvements in clinical responses across high stringent thresholds were observed, with up to 57% of participants achieving HiSCR75 and up to 29% of participants achieving HiSCR100. Povorcitinib treatment led to consistent reductions across key inflammatory lesion types, with full resolution (ANdT=0) achieved in up to 20% of patients. Additionally, clinically meaningful improvements in quality-of-life measures, including skin pain and fatigue, were observed at Week 54. The overall safety profile of povorcitinib through 54 weeks is consistent with previously reported data, and both doses were well tolerated. Incyte (Nasdaq:INCY) to
Takeda’s Zasocitinib Delivered Rapid and Durable Skin Clearance in a Convenient Once-Daily Pill, Affirming Promise to Reshape Psoriasis Care28.3.2026 20:00:00 CET | Press release
About 70% of patients treated with zasocitinib achieved clear or almost clear skin (sPGA 0/1) at week 16 in Phase 3 plaque psoriasis studies A significantly greater PASI 75 response rate versus placebo was observed as early as week 4 Safety profile consistent with Phase 2b studies with no new safety signals identified Takeda(TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK)today announced new data from the two pivotal Phase 3studies of zasocitinib (TAK-279), a next-generation, highly selective oral tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor, in adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis (PsO).1 Presented as a late-breaking abstract at the 2026 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting, these data show that convenient once-daily oral zasocitinib demonstrated rapid and durable skin clearance with a safety profile consistent with Phase 2b studies.1,2 “Our goal in psoriasis treatment is clear or almost clear skin, and previously this has been achieved primarily with injectable therapies,” said Melinda Gooderham,
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom