Singapore Exchange has signed two different Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) to facilitate credit access for startups and early-stage Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Mohamed Nasser Ismail, Head of Equity Capital Market (SME) and Head of Capital Market Development at SGX, said,
As a market operator, we believe our established infrastructure and network can support and improve access to capital for early-stage companies.
He added SGX has been involved in the startup and early stage SMEs space previously as well, starting from their partnership with CapBridge, as well as the provision of depository services for FundedHere’s proprietary bonds platform. In future too, they will continue to collaborate with like-minded stakeholders to facilitate better access to expertise and growth capital for the firms.
SGX has signed one MoU with a regional peer to peer lending and equity crowdfunding platform Crowdo. With a presence in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, it has financed a total of 2,000 projects as of March end, 2017. It has also obtained a full Securities Crowdfunding Licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, making it the first licensed P2P lending platform in ASEAN. Leo Shimada, Co-Founder and CEO of Crowdo, mentioned in an official statement,
This partnership creates a powerful combination of a regional early stage and pre-IPO financing platform via Crowdo, and a competitive public market solution via SGX. This is great for start-ups and SMEs who will benefit from broader financing options and a seamless financing journey.
As per the partnership, Crowdo and SGX will work towards raising awareness amongst the SMEs and the investing community about the various opportunities and channels available to raise capital in Singapore; information sharing to create efficient access to capital for SMEs; and mutually developing guidelines for the cross-referral of potential clients.
While, SGX has signed the other MoU with PwC’s Venture Hub, which is unit within PwC that wants to offer a one-stop shop approach to providing solutions and services to motivated entrepreneurs, investors, corporate and accelerators within the venture ecosystem, helping them to accelerate their growth and expand into their key markets.
Both the firms will work together to promote Singapore as an attractive ecosystem for startups, fast growing innovative companies and the investing community; arranging regular events to further develop thought leadership within the startup community. They will also focus on raising awareness about the various opportunities and channels to grow in the Asia Pacific region, using Singapore as a hub. Antony Eldridge, FinTech Leader and Financial Services Leader, PwC Singapore concludes,
We are proud to be part of this collaboration, spearheaded by SGX, to further enhance Singapore’s start-up ecosystem by sharing PwC’s expertise in areas such as business strategy and structuring, global market access, and regulatory compliance.
