[L-R] Regina Lee, Head of Commercial Banking, HSBC Singapore; Kelvin Teo, Co-founder and Group CEO, Funding Societies | Modalku; Chai Kien Poon, Country Manager, Funding Societies Malaysia.
Funding Societies, Southeast Asia’s largest Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) digital financing platform, today announced the signing of a US$50 million (RM223 million) credit facility* with HSBC Singapore to continue expanding the firm’s reach to underserved SMEs in the region.
Commercial lending in the Asia Pacific is projected to grow at a CAGR of 16.5%, generating a revenue of more than US$7 trillion (RM31.27 trillion) by 2028 – which makes up about 25% of the global market size of US$27.4 trillion (RM122.4 trillion). The SMEs segment is anticipated to grow at the fastest rate. Closer to home in Southeast Asia, many SMEs are still struggling to secure funding and it is estimated that there is a US$320 billion (RM1.43 trillion) funding gap in the region.
Digital financing is projected to emerge as the largest contributor to fill that gap and improve that experience. As a leader in the SME digital financing space in the region, Funding Societies has a disbursement track record of over more than US$2.6 billion (RM11 billion) through more than 5.1 million transactions across the region. In Malaysia alone, the platform has disbursed more than RM1 billion in financing to businesses. Through this new facility, the fintech lender will be able to channel the funds via its range of tailored financing solutions across SME segments across all of its five markets.
Co-founder and Group CEO of Funding Societies | Modalku, Kelvin Teo, said, “We’re honored to receive such a sizeable facility from a global bank such as HSBC. This marks a critical milestone for us and is a testament to our credit track record through Covid-19. HSBC’s foresight, global capabilities, and scalable approach further equip us to better satisfy the underserved SME segments in the region. We appreciate HSBC’s confidence in us and are excited about this signing.”
Country Head of Funding Societies Malaysia, Chai Kien Poon, said, “This milestone demonstrates Funding Societies’ commitment towards underserved creditworthy SMEs in the region. In Malaysia, we will continue to look for collaborative opportunities with partners across various sectors so we can help these SMEs reach their full economic potential in the recovery phase. For the FinTech and digital financing spaces to make headway, synergistic efforts with financial institutions and industry players are vital to better serve SMEs.”
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SMEs make up 97% of all enterprises in Southeast Asia bringing 40% of GDP value across the region. Malaysian MSMEs account for 97.4% of all establishments in Malaysia in 2021 according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM). Collectively, they contribute 37.4% to the national GDP amounting to RM572.6 billion in value. The signing will enable HSBC to extend its global capabilities and reach by tapping into the underserved segments across the region. Furthermore, the signing with HSBC will see the global bank acting as a structuring bank, lender, facility, and security agent in providing a flexible, scalable, and pan-regional financing solution to support Funding Societies’ business expansion in the region.
Regina Lee, Head of Commercial Banking, HSBC Singapore, said, “As a leading SME digital financing platform, Funding Societies is playing an important role in contributing to Southeast Asia’s new economic growth by driving broader financial inclusion and supporting homegrown companies which are the building blocks of these economies. We are thrilled to support Funding Societies as they expand their reach to serving underserved SMEs in the region.”
This announcement comes at the heels of Funding Societies’ most recent acquisition of regional digital payments platform CardUp subject to regulatory approvals, as part of a series of efforts to diversify its services beyond financing. The digital financing platform also achieved several strategic milestones including its Series C+ equity raise of US$144 million (RM643 million) in February, its recent investment into Bank Index in Indonesia, and market entry into Vietnam – its fifth market.
