Funding Societies, a Singapore based peer-to-business lending company has secured a whooping S$10million in Series A funding round led by Sequoia India along with existing partner Alpha JWC Ventures. Funding Societies believes this is the largest investment in a Southeast Asian peer to peer lender ever.
The new financing will be used to “strengthen customer experience” and comply with the myriad of regulatory variations in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The startup further said that the new funding would allow it to cement its position as a peer to peer lender that is synonymous with trust and sustainability.
Funding Societies has always prided itself on being compliant with regulations and ensuring the safety of investor monies. Earning investor and borrower trust always takes priority over short-term growth.
says the company in a statement. This factor helped in raising the capital from Sequoia. Funding Societies has provided over US$6.33 million in loans to 100 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore since its inception. Modalku (My Capitalin Bahasa) its sister platform in Indonesia, gave around US$750,000 in loans to over 30 SMEs there.
Peiter Kemps, VP, Sequoia, said,
They have grown fast by effectively meeting the needs of both SME’s and lenders. Funding Societies is well positioned to emerge as a leading P2P platform in the region and Sequoia is delighted to support them in this endeavor.
He also told that they were impressed by its strong team and ability to executive in Southeast Asia – a very hot market right now they decided to partner with them. There is no shortage of P2P Lending sites in Singapore and tough competitors such as CoAssets, Captial Match and MoolahSense are there but this funding separates it from them.
Will Ongkowidjaja, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Alpha JWC Ventures, early investors in Funding Societies, explained the team was very important in their decision to back the young company.
What makes Funding Societies truly special is Kelvin Teo and his Co-Founder Reynold Wijaya’s bold vision, their belief in making an impact to help SMEs, and their ability to inspire best-in-class people to join their journey. Given our partnership with Funding Societies from its early days, it is truly rewarding to see the progress they have made in realizing their vision. I genuinely believe there are more good things to come.
Co-founder Kelvin Teo is a certified accountant and MBA grad from Harvard with vast experience working as analyst in McKinsey, Accenture, and private equity firm KKR.
The field of peer-to-peer lending is a big part of the fintech boom, and Funding Societies is throwing its own gauntlet into the fray. The startup crowd sources loans for small businesses that would have difficulty borrowing from banks. It incentivizes potential investors to finance those loans by promising higher returns on their investment than what fixed deposits would bring.
