Financial platform Funding Societies raises $27 million

Mr. Kelvin Teo - Co-founder and CEO of Funding Societies Group. Photo: Funding Societies

The deal was funded by AlteriQ Global, a financial credit institution, Aument Capital Partners (ACP), a private wealth management consultancy, and Orange Bloom, a sustainable development fund. The US$27 million investment will be used to develop innovative financing solutions to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that do not have access to appropriate capital in five markets: Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

Currently, small and medium-sized enterprises are the "backbone" of the Southeast Asian economy . According to the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), despite increasing access to credit for consumers, 39 million micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the region still face financial challenges.

This opens up the potential for Funding Societies to expand their reach through funding sources, while supporting micro, small and medium enterprises to maintain stable business cash flow.

Mr. Kelvin Teo - Co-founder and CEO of Funding Societies Group said that in the context of the volatile macro economy, the company will continue to increase funding proposals for many small and medium enterprises facing barriers in accessing capital in all 5 markets.

The investment will be used by Funding Societies to bridge the financing gap for SMEs in Southeast Asia. Funding Societies supports businesses in addressing their financial inclusion needs, not only in terms of capital but also in developing products to support payments and debt collection. Funding Societies has funded over US$3.2 billion through over 5 million transactions and serves around 100,000 SMEs across the region.

"The partnership with Funding Societies will help AlteriQ Global provide a fully integrated financial ecosystem," said Zhi Yong Heng, AlteriQ Global representative.

In the same vein, ACP decided to partner with Funding Societies as it is a core partner in providing access to credit for SMEs in the region.

Meanwhile, Orange Bloom representative said that the decision to cooperate with Funding Societies comes from the common goal of sustainable development. Orange Bloom's new sustainability fund was established with the aim of providing financial support for businesses and individuals to combat climate change, transition to more sustainable activities towards a low-carbon economy.

Orange Bloom’s goals are perfectly aligned with Funding Societies, which has been implementing an Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) across all five markets since the beginning of the year. Funding Societies’ ESG (environmental, social, governance) risk assessment framework, designed with technical support from the Dutch Good Growth Fund, becomes part of the credit assessment process when SMEs apply for loans.

(Source: Funding Societies)

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