SMALL and medium-sized enterprise (SME) digital financing platform Funding Societies on Thursday announced it raised US$18 million in debt finance, led by a trio syndicate of financial institutions including Singapore's Helicap Investments and the Social Impact Debt Fund.
Helicap Investments is the investment arm of Singapore-based fintech startup Helicap, an alternative lending firm that provides private debt investments. The deal was arranged through the fintech's securities arm Helicap Securities, which acted as the sole mandated lead arranger on the secured credit facility.
Meanwhile, the Social Impact Debt Fund is an impact investment fund managed by Singapore-based wealth management firm Taurus Wealth Advisors, and advised by local impact investment firm GreenArc Capital. Funding Societies said the fund's participation in its latest debt funding round came considering the impact which Funding Societies has affected on the region's economic disparity.
The third financial institution was only referred to by Funding Societies as "a Japanese financial services group".
The Business Times (BT) understands that separately, Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation contributed a majority US$15 million in equity to the Series C funding round with the purchase of 638,480 shares at US$23.49 per share. The figures are according to VentureCap Insights. (see amendment note)
Funding Societies' most recent valuation is US$326.4 million, based on data from VentureCap Insights.
In its press statement, the SME lender said it expects the syndicated US$18 million facility to increase further, with interest from investors across Asia and Europe.
It added that the latest funding round puts Funding Societies on track to raise US$120 million in institutional debt for funding the growth needs of micro enterprises and SMEs in South-east Asia.
It also expands the SME-focused platform's institutional lender base, which Funding Societies secured after passing financial and risk due diligence conducted by the lenders.
It also expands the SME-focused platform's institutional lender base, which Funding Societies secured after passing financial and risk due diligence conducted by the lenders.
"The pandemic was an important test of resilience, and we are glad to have navigated it successfully, with a proven artificial intelligence-led credit model," said Kelvin Teo, co-founder and group chief executive of Funding Societies in Modalku, Indonesia.
Commenting on the trio syndicate of financial institutions, he added: "We believe this is a start of a long-term relationship and continuous evolution of Funding Societies."
Amendment note: The article has been revised to clarify that the unidentified Japanese financial services firm that contributed to the debt-raising round is not SMBC, which instead contributed to the equity fundraising.
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