Alibaba.com has announced a strategic partnerships with lenders ezbob and iwoca to help UK small and medium businesses access trade financing more easily when they purchase goods from China based suppliers on its Alibaba.com platform.

Through the partnerships and a new product called Alibaba.com e-Credit Line, UK small and medium businesses will be able to overcome a major hurdle in their sourcing cycle posed by financing upfront payments to suppliers. When a UK buyer wants to finance inventory and purchase from a China based supplier on Alibaba.com, they can apply for a line of credit, receive approval, and then can use the line of credit to make multiple draw downs to finance purchases – all through Alibaba.com’s platform. The funds are disbursed directly to the supplier in China, facilitated by either ezbob or iwoca.

The partnerships offer two distinct tiers of lending: through iwoca, UK based businesses can apply online in five minutes to secure financing of up to £50,000 for up to six months. Through ezbob, companies in the UK can also apply in just five minutes to borrow amounts from £50,000 to £120,000 for up to 15 months.

Wei Duan, Alibaba.com’s European marketing and business development director, said: “We know that small businesses need fast access to trade finance in order to compete and succeed. We want to make financing as easy as possible for the millions of British companies that do business through Alibaba.com. Working with the leaders in this field, ezbob and iwoca, offers each of our customers an advanced and integrated trade finance service package.”

Russell Gould, COO, ezbob added: “Our partnership with Alibaba.com will create a compelling offer for UK buyers and will also benefit Chinese suppliers. We predict that this will help fuel a significant increase in UK trade volume on the Alibaba.com platform. As the UK’s largest business e-lender we welcome the opportunity to help small businesses to negotiate with suppliers from a position of strength with readily available funds.”

“Small business have been failed by the banks due to lack of available financing. This has held back UK economic growth,” said Christoph Rieche, CEO of iwoca.

“This deal gives small businesses the muscle they need to quickly finance deals and trade in the global market. The partnership with Alibaba.com highlights the dramatic growth in alternative forms of lending and the economic shift away from established bank lenders. We expect to finance over £100m worth of deals over the next 12 months.”