Sequoia India, has invested in a $10 Million round for Singapore-based P2B fin-tech startup — Funding Societies. The startup, which enables business to get loan from public through its marketplace, has raised $10 million in its Series A round with participation of multiple investors.
Along with Sequoia India, the latest funding round of the company also saw participation from Harvard University experts and its existing investor Alpha JWC Ventures, an Indonesian VC firm.
The amount raised by the company in the current round will be utilize to further strengthen customer experience, streamline services for borrowers and lenders, and for complying with regulatory variations in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Commenting about this, Kelvin Teo, co-founder of Funding Societies, said,
P2B lending is a capital and knowledge-intensive business. We believe in working with the best in the industry and are proud to partner with Sequoia in this journey. Their experience investing in online lending platforms will bring Funding Societies to the next level. We will continue serving SMEs and lenders with the same focus on sustainable, quality growth.
Pieter Kemps, Vice-President at Sequoia, said,
Sequoia has been impressed by Funding Societies’ strong team and their ability to execute across Southeast Asia. In a large market, 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.
Funding Societies was founded in 2015 by Reynold Wijaya and Kelvin Teo. The fin-tech start-up offers an online peer-to-business lending platform for Small-Medium Enterprises to secure loans to fuel their growth.
It also enables individual and institutional lenders to earn equitable returns from lending to Small-Medium Enterprises. The company’s vision is to help SMEs and Lenders, and to do its bit to improve societies in Southeast Asia.
Since June 2015, Funding Societies claims to have provided more than S$8.5 million in loans to about 100 Small Medium Enterprises in Singapore. This is the highest number of loans by a Singapore-based P2P lending company in span of 12 months. In Indonesia, it is operating as Modalku and claims to have given about S$1 million in loans to more than 30 SMEs.
