Singapore – Funding Societies, SME digital financing platform in SEA, which goes by Modalku in Indonesia, has raised US$144m in an oversubscribed Series C+ equity round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2; with new investors, notably Vietnamese tech giant VNG Corporation, Rapyd Ventures, Asia-based global investor EDBI, Indies Capital, K3 Ventures, and Ascend Vietnam Ventures.
The company has also received US$150m in debt lines from institutional lenders across Europe, the United States, and Asia, some of which have been drawn down since 2021. This comes on the back of its US$45 million Series C raised between 2020 and 2021.
The company believes that the funds solidify Funding Societies’ position as a market leader in digital financing, and propels its expense management, and B2B payments services for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across Southeast Asia.
Since 2019, Funding Societies has expanded its suite of financial services beyond lending and plans to bring its operations to more locations in Southeast Asia within the next 12 months.
In October, the company has also announced that it has raised US$18m in debt for funding led by a trio syndicate of financial institutions, including lending company Helicap Investments.
Funding Societies aims to solve MSMEs’ key pain points for growth, such as the challenge in obtaining business loans from traditional financial institutions due to a lack of a credit track record or collaterals to pledge. Funding Societies offers microloans from US$500 up to US$1.5m which can be disbursed within 24 hours.
Co-founder and Group CEO, Kelvin Teo, shared that a common misconception is that the company competes with banks.
“The reality is we ‘compete’ with savings, friends and families, and personal credit cards. There is a huge unsecured financing gap because it takes patience and focus, or you risk losing a lot of money. Having proven our AI-led credit capabilities in an unprecedented financial crisis, we look to serve SMEs even better with neo banking and deeper regional presence in Southeast Asia,” said Teo.
According to the company, it has disbursed, to date, over US$2b in business financing to MSMEs in the SEA region.
The fintech is now licensed and registered in four countries across the region – Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and operating in Vietnam.
