Singapore’s Funding Societies Secures $7.5M Debt Funding from Norfund to Expand Southeast Asian Reach
Funding Societies | Modalku, the prominent integrated digital finance platform for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Southeast Asia, has revealed that it successfully secured $7.5 million in debt funding from Norfund, a Development Financial Institution (DFI) operating an investment fund backed by the Norwegian government for developing nations.
Notably, this marks Norfund’s inaugural debt transaction with a FinTech SME lender in Southeast Asia.
Norfund, with a focus on increasing financial inclusion and having lent approximately $4.54 billion to 7.5 million clients, plays a crucial role in Funding Societies’ mission to empower SMEs.
Funding Societies has provided over $3.2 billion in business financing to around 100,000 SMEs in the region. This debt funding will enable the FinTech lender to extend its tailored financing solutions to SMEs in all five markets it serves.
Norfund Impact investments made by DFIs in Southeast Asia
An annual consistent investment of approximately $2 billion from 2017 to 2022, totaling over $12 billion, has been notable. More than half of these investments found their way into the financial services sector, primarily through the use of debt instruments.
Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) possess the financial strength and expertise to provide support to SMEs in situations where commercial banks and governments may face limitations.
Expansion Plans in Southeast Asia Drive Funding Societies’ Latest Funding Round
Just over a month ago, Funding Societies revealed a $27 million debt fundraising round led by AlteriQ Global and with the participation of Aument Capital Partners and Orange Bloom.
Funding Societies’ Co-Founder and Group CEO, Kelvin Teo, emphasized that this achievement reflects their strong credit history despite challenging economic conditions and provides a timely opportunity to meet the growth capital requirements of underserved SMEs in Southeast Asia.
