Tag: Validus

Singapore – Validus, a digital SME lending platform, has announced the establishment of a debt facility of up to US$50 million from HSBC with the aim of financially supporting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia.

Digital SME financing platform Batumbu, Validus’ Indonesian subsidiary, will be deploying the debt facility.

According to Indonesia’s Ministry for Economic Affairs, MSMEs contribute 61% of the country’s gross domestic product, encompassing 97% of the country’s total workforce. However, MSMEs in the country struggle to secure financial resources due to banks’ stringent requirements, as reported by the World Bank.

As an additional and accessible financing option, the debt facility aims to help MSMEs overcome financial challenges while boosting their contribution to Indonesia’s economic development.

“This long-term partnership with HSBC builds on our ongoing efforts to bridge the financing gap for MSMEs in Indonesia. We will continue to pioneer innovations and drive advancements in the lending space. By leveraging Batumbu’s unique position as the largest and only profitable digital SME financing platform in the country, we are committed to unlocking new opportunities for businesses, driving economic growth, and enhancing financial inclusion. We are honoured to work with HSBC on this pivotal initiative, which will enable Validus to make a larger impact on the Indonesian economy,” Nikhilesh Goel, co-founder and group CEO of Validus, said.

Harish Venkatesan, head of corporate and business banking at HSBC Singapore, said “As one of the leading MSME digital financing players in the ASEAN region, we are pleased to support Validus in playing an instrumental role in promoting financial inclusion to underserved small businesses in this region. MSMEs play a key role contributing to the long-term economic success in the ASEAN region and beyond. We look forward to supporting Validus in their mission to drive regional growth through the HSBC ASEAN growth fund.”

While based in Singapore, Validus has expanded its presence in Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand.

Singapore – Validus, one of Southeast Asia’s leading all-in-one SME business account and financing platforms, has announced the appointment of Anshul Johri as its group chief technology officer (CTO), effective 5 April 2023. 

Johri brings over 17 years of technology expertise in driving growth and scale for startups and large companies across various industries and is responsible for leading the technology strategy across the region to propel Validus into its next phase of growth.

Prior to joining Validus, Johri spent six years as head of engineering at Indonesian unicorn Traveloka, where he scaled its financial services products such as payment platform, digital wallet, buy now pay later (BNPL), insurance and wealth management. Anshul’s experience spans e-commerce, travel, and fintech industries across India and SEA countries.

“Anshul’s successful and varied experience at organisations ranging from bootstrapped startups to unicorns and Fortune 50 companies makes him an invaluable addition to our executive team as we continue to drive our ambitious technology plans forward,” said Validus’ Co-founder and Executive Chairman Vikas Nahata.

He added, “We are delighted to have him on board to infuse a new energy as we execute on our key technology initiatives to build, scale, and deliver best-in-class digital financial services for small businesses across the region.”

Previously, Validus and global financial services company Citi have established a US$100m securitisation facility to drive SME financing in Southeast Asia.

Singapore – SME growth financing platform Validus and global financial services company Citi have established a US$100m securitisation facility, collateralised by SME loans originated by Validus in Singapore. This will drive SME financing in Southeast Asia.

The facility is also supported by First Plus Asset Management, a Singapore-based multi-asset investment manager focused on Asia structured credit and equities.

Milena Naitoh, head of corporate development at Validus, said, “This collaboration with Citi underscores the quality of our origination, credit portfolio management, strength and resilience of our business, in today’s market environment. With this evolution in our financing strategy, as well as the support of Citi as an established player in the asset-backed securities space, we are now even better positioned to support the growth of SMEs with accessible and effortless business finance.” 

She added, “As Validus continues to extend its position as a leading all-in-one SME finance platform in Southeast Asia, this securitised lending structure, together with a diversified financing and product strategy, will enable us to grow at a much greater scale. We are honoured that Citi has chosen to collaborate with us on this landmark securitised lending transaction with a fintech start-up in Southeast Asia, and we are looking at replicating this transaction playbook across other markets.” 

Validus is currently raising its Series C equity round for an undisclosed amount. The combination of the securitisation facility and Series C equity funding will further drive Validus’ expansion plans as it starts to introduce neo-banking products in other Southeast Asia markets. 

Validus’ proprietary algorithmic credit models and uniquely aggregated alternative underwriting data has driven reliable historical performance in origination, underwriting and collections. Since its launch in 2015, Validus has disbursed over US$1.6 billion across more than 65,000 loans to small businesses in Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. 

Meanwhile, Lei Tie, co-founder and head of structured credit at First Plus, said, “We are thrilled to be part of the transaction, which has established a gold standard for non-recourse asset based financing for Southeast Asia, and to be able to support Validus on their next phase of growth.”