Dubai: MarTech giant Mitgo Group is launching a new cutting-edge business division - fintech services for affiliate publishers. According to conservative estimates, affiliate marketing spend reached $14.4 billion in 2023 and will exceed $15.7 billion this year. In the next three years, Mitgo plans to become a conduit for more than 7% of that transaction volume, which can be valued at more than $1.5 billion given the sector's growth. The first step in this direction is the acquisition of UAE-based embedded finance platform Embedded, whose team has extensive experience in fintech and will complement Mitgo's technology stack needed to enter a new market.The new division will include a set of solutions from the field of embedded finance. It will allow millions of publishers across the globe with a specific focus on currently underbanked audiences in MENA, APAC and LATAM regions to withdraw their earnings instantly instead of the standard waiting period of 60-120 days (that currently is a benchmark in affiliate marketing). They will also get access to loans, reduce transaction costs, reduce exchange commissions, improve transaction speed and get many other benefits. Last year, Mitgo Group has already successfully tested similar financial solutions within its businesses.Access to obtaining loans and other lines of financing will be one of the main advantages for publishers, as currently it is extremely difficult for them to open a credit line in standard financial organizations as the existing solutions on the financial market often don't recognize specifics of publishers' business. It causes a lack of availability of financial products for publishers, who're mostly SMBs.Mitgo Group's 15 years of experience in the affiliate marketing market while working with more than 100,000 active partners, as well as unique algorithms using AI and machine learning allow the company to accurately assess such borrowers and build a low-risk but very profitable loan portfolio from them.The embedded finance solutions allow leaders of the financial industry - major banks, payment systems, e-wallets and others - to expand their portfolio of customers and niche products in areas and countries which were previously too expensive and risky for them to enter.Mitgo Group's new business direction will become a guide to the vast world of affiliate marketing for selected partners from the circle of largest fintech organizations. In the coming years, the company plans to establish cooperation with the leading players of this market - global payment schemes and the world's largest financial institutions. With the help of the company's experts, they will have access to previously undiscovered potential, including millions of users and tens of billions of dollars worth of transactions that previously passed under the radar of financial organizations.“On top of other viable opportunities, our future partners from the financial industry will get both an excellent test site on the basis of a new market and a vast system of distribution of financial products among the audience of publishers: cashback-services, media buyers, loyalty programmes, BNPL services and many others. With our help, they will be able to offer a suitable set of solutions to hundreds of millions of their users around the world”, states Alexander Bachmann, founder and CEO of Mitgo Group.The new business direction will be led by Oleg Chanchikov, CEO and founder of Embedded, which is going to be acquired by Mitgo. Oleg has more than 20 years of experience in the IT and financial markets. He previously held senior management positions at Visa and other major financial and IT organizations.“The entire world, including global players in the financial market and international organizations such as the UN and World Bank, work to empower SMBs and make financial services more accessible for them. Embedded finance solutions help the market to grow not just from the top-down approach when a bank offers pre-defined products to the clients, but also from the bottom-up when the industries themselves use financial products to solve the needs and the problems in their core business. I believe, together with Mitgo Group, we will not just change the way the MarTech industry uses financial products but introduce revolutionary solutions that will change the whole market”, - states Oleg.

Visa (NYSE: V) today revealed findings from the seventh edition of its Global Back to Business Study, which found that a majority of surveyed small and micro businesses (SMBs) plan to prioritize cross-border sales as they look to scale to new geographies. Additionally, the survey found that a growing number of consumers are embracing cashless transactions, with nearly 75% of surveyed shoppers predicting they will use digital payments more frequently this year.“It used to be that only big businesses could scale to access customers across the country or around the world, but today’s small business owner can be virtually borderless,” said Dr. Saeeda Jaffar, Visa’s SVP and Group Country Manager for GCC. “At Visa, we’re seeing the small business mindset shift from survival mode to growth mode, as SMBs harness the power of digital payments to improve efficiencies, reach new audiences and simply thrive in today’s increasingly digital world.”Looking beyond pandemic-era challenges to the full arc of opportunities ahead, Visa’s Global Back to Business Study surveyed small business owners and consumers in ten markets, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and United States (US). Key insights include:The world is their marketplace. Ninety-three percent of surveyed business owners in the UAE cited expanding into new geographies as a focus for growth (compared to 79% globally). A high number (83% vs. 72% globally) of consumers said they already feel comfortable buying across borders.Leaving paper behind. While 100% (vs. 95% globally) of small business owners surveyed planned to be cashless “someday,” 42% (vs. 51% globally) planned to make that shift in the next two years. Consumers lead this shift, with 51% (vs. 55% globally) of those surveyed predicting they will use digital payments more in the coming year.Shopping small. Seventy percent of consumers (vs. 49% globally) intended to shop more at local businesses this year as they look to support the local economy (54%).Shopping sustainable. An overwhelming 92% of UAE shoppers say a business’s sustainability practices have at least somewhat of an impact on their decision to purchase from them (compared to 68% globally). Nearly all (96%) are willing to pay more for products or services to ensure they are sustainable (vs. 77% globally).The To Do list. Business owners cited offering new products or services (44%), investing more in marketing (42%), and increasing social media presence (41%) as the top opportunities to reach new customers, with 37% eyeing accepting new forms of payment as a crucial area that can help them improve their business.Powering SMB Growth Globally, Year-RoundSmall businesses are anything but small to Visa. Through a variety of localized programs and solutions, Visa enables small business owners to meet the rapidly changing demands of global commerce and consumer needs. Visa offers numerous payment services designed to help SMBs pay and get paid, including Visa Business credit and debit cards through associated financial institutions, business and payment management tools, fraud and security services, among many other solutions. Visa also provides financial education and business skills training, including Practical Business Skills globally, in addition to initiatives like She’s Next.In 2020, Visa Foundation announced a five-year, $200 million strategic commitment to support the establishment and growth of thriving small and micro businesses with a focus on women entrepreneurs. Through its investments and grant-making activity, Visa Foundation partners with organizations that provide catalytic capital, capacity building and support services. Additionally, Visa Foundation uses capital as a tool to enable the flow of investment capital to gender diverse SMBs.Additional resources for small and micro businesses can be found on the Visa Small Business Hub.Methodology: Visa Global Back to Business StudyVisa’s Global Back to Business Study was conducted by Wakefield Research in March/April 2023 and surveyed 2,250 small business owners with 100 employees or fewer in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, UAE, and the US. The consumer section surveyed 1,000 adults ages 18+ in the US, and 500 adults ages 18+ in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, and UAE.