(L-R) Funding Societies Co-Founder and Group CEO Kelvin Teo and Norfund Regional Director (Asia) Fay Chetnakarnkul
Digital finance platform for SMEs in Southeast Asia, Funding Societies (Modalku in Indonesia), has secured US$7.5 million in debt funding from Norwegian government-owned development financial institution (DFI) Norfund.
The fintech lender will channel the funds via its tailored financing solutions to the SME segments across all five markets.
This is Norfund’s first debt transaction with a fintech SME lender in Southeast Asia.
Also Read: Funding Societies hopes to move from alternative to mainstream financing one day
This debt funding comes over a month after the fintech firm announced a US$27 million in debt fundraising led by AlteriQ Global, with participation from Aument Capital Partners and Orange Bloom.
Funding Societies Co-Founder and Group CEO Kelvin Teo said, “This milestone is not only a testament to our credit track record through COVID-19 and macro uncertainties, but also a timely opportunity to satisfy the growth capital needs of more underserved SMEs in Southeast Asia.”
Norfund’s Regional Director (Asia) Fay Chetnakarnkul commented, “Funding Societies has been serving Southeast Asia’s underserved businesses with its broad range of financing solutions and solving cash management challenges these SMEs face. We are pleased to be able to support Funding Societies as the company expands its reach and increases financial inclusion further, enabling more businesses to grow and create much-needed jobs in the region.”
Funding Societies is licensed in Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand, registered in Malaysia, and operates in Vietnam. It provides US$1 billion annually of business financing to SMEs. Its recent milestones include acquiring the regional digital payments platform CardUp and co-investment into Bank Index in Indonesia.
The firm claims to have achieved over US$3.2 billion in business financing, serving about 100,000 regional SMEs.
Its other investors are SoftBank Vision Fund 2, SoftBank Ventures Asia, Sequoia Capital India, Alpha JWC Ventures, SMBC Bank, BRI Ventures, VNG Corporation, Rapyd Ventures, Endeavor, EBDI, SGInnovative, Qualgro, and Golden Gate Ventures.
Also Read: SME lender Funding Societies nets US$27M debt funding
Norfund is the Norwegian investment fund for developing countries with a mission to create jobs and improve lives by investing in businesses that drive sustainable development. Its committed portfolio totals US$3.1 billion in Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central America. Norfund has four investment areas: renewable energy, financial inclusion, scalable enterprises and green infrastructure.
Impact investments made by DFIs in Southeast Asia have seen a steady investment of about US$2 billion annually between 2017 and 2022 (amounting to over US$12 billion). Over half of these investments were channelled into the financial services sector, with most of the capital deployed through debt instruments.
—
Image Credit: Funding Societies.
The post Funding Societies raises US$7.5M debt financing from Norway’s state-owned Norfund appeared first on e27.