Kuala Lumpur, 18 April 2018 – Funding Societies, Malaysia’s leading SME digital financing platform, has successfully raised RM100 million in series B funding. Led by SoftBank Ventures Korea, the funding round also includes existing investors Sequoia India, Alpha JWC Ventures from Indonesia, and Golden Gate Ventures. LINE Ventures and Qualgro also participated in this oversubscribed round. The funds raised is the largest by a digital financing platform in Southeast Asia and will help realize Funding Societies’ vision of financial inclusion for Southeast Asia.
Funding Societies is the first SME digital financing platform to launch in Malaysia. It connects small and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”) in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia with retail and institutional investors. Regionally, Funding Societies has funded more than RM440 million into more than 3,000 SME financing opportunities and has increased its investor base to over 60,000.
Funding Societies received many awards and accolades in 2017. At the end of 2017, it won the Global SME Excellence Award from United Nations’ ITU Telecom. It is the first and only Asian startup to win the award. The company was also included in CB Insights’ Fintech 250, a select list of the top FinTech companies around the world working on groundbreaking financial technology. The awards reflect wide recognition of FinTech solutions’ positive impact on society.
With the recent Budget announcements in October 2017, it is evident that the government recognizes the financial challenges faced by SMEs and is extending a lot of assistance with new grants and schemes. On top of that, an estimate cited by the Securities Commission (SC) reveals a significant RM80 billion gap in SME financing in Malaysia. And yet, SMEs make up 97% of businesses in Malaysia. Funding Societies addresses this gap by providing fast and flexible funding for the growth of local SMEs. The money raised will be utilized to help realize Funding Societies’ vision in creating financial inclusion in Southeast Asia.