Southeast Asia FinTech Startup Nabs $7.5 Million

The Singapore startup Funding Societies raised $7.5 million in Series A financing, TechCrunch reported on Monday (Aug 8).

The round was led by Sequoia India and included angel investors. The startup, which clocks in at just over a year old, operates as an alternative lender, with a model predicated partly on that of Lending Club. The premise is that loans can come from a disparate number of sources, with the typical application of interest and payback expected. The firm operates as a “peer-to-business” platform.

The loan base, thus far, includes SMEs, and as TechCrunch noted, a movement to consumers could be in the offing. The loan book has stretched across $8.7 million in loans paid out. CEO Kelvin Teo told the outlet that its repayment rate stands at about 94 percent.

In terms of mechanics, the loans are typically done as working capital loans, with the average loan size in Singapore coming in at $67,000, while in Indonesia that average loan size is $25,000. Loans are approved at a 15–25 percent rate, and the firm charges fees in the low to mid-single digits for the borrower, with an additional 1 percent to the lender.

In reference to the financing obtained, the firm is aiming at expanding its Malaysian presence and also navigating the regulatory waves that may come in the future, in addition to investing beyond the current technologies centered in iOS and Android apps.