New SME funding platform enters Thailand
A new funding platform for small and medium companies (SMEs), Funding Societies, has entered Thailand to provide their fundraising services to SMEs and startups in the country, according to February 10 release.
Funding Societies was founded in 2015 in Singapore as a digital finance and crowdfunding platform and was the first to engage an escrow agency to independently and safely manage investors’ funds, it says. Meanwhile, it expanded to Indonesia and Malaysia with its peer-to-peer lending business model and has since offered crowdfunded loans to more than 65,000 SMEs in the three countries with over $1.5 billion in funding from retail and institutional investors.
The company is backed by venture investors such as Sequoia India, Softbank Ventures Asia Corp, Qualgro and Line Ventures, amongst others.
Access to alternative capital
After having obtained a debt crowdfunding license by the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission on February 2, the company is now expanding to Thailand, targeting Thai SMEs, startups and entrepreneurs by giving access to alternative capital providers.
Thailand has more than three million SMEs, according to the company, but more than half of them face multiple challenges in obtaining financing in a conventional way from banks, especially to meet short term working capital requirements.
Traditional financial institutions focus on long term and asset-backed loans, leaving a SME financing gap of over $40 billion, as per the International Finance Corporation, according to the release. This lack of funding has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic as lenders have attempted to reduce their loan exposures in order to manage risk.
“SMEs contribute over 40 per cent to the Thai GDP but face numerous challenges in accessing finance from traditional sources due to lack of collateral, onerous document requirements and lengthy approval processes,” says Varun Bhandari, country head of Funding Societies Thailand.
Diversified crowdfunding investment at low default rates
“By leveraging technology, Funding Societies offers SMEs a new avenue for raising financing that is fast, affordable and convenient. Thai investors will also get an opportunity to diversify their investments and earn attractive fixed income returns, while supporting local businesses and brands,” he added.
Funding Societies says it offers a range of collateral-free financing to help SMEs with their business expansion, working capital needs or up-front project costs. Applications can be made online by submitting basic documents, the company noted.
In turn, for investors, contributions to the crowdfunding platform would play a big role in diversifying their investments and help enhance overall portfolio returns, the company said, asserting that its risk controls have restricted defaults to below two per cent even amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Funding Societies: Loans for more than 65,000 businesses A new funding platform for small and medium companies (SMEs), Funding Societies, has entered Thailand to provide their fundraising services to SMEs and startups in the country, according to February 10 release. Funding Societies was founded in 2015 in Singapore as a digital finance and crowdfunding platform and was the first to engage an escrow agency to independently and safely manage investors’ funds, it says. Meanwhile, it expanded to Indonesia and Malaysia with its peer-to-peer lending business model and has since offered crowdfunded loans to more than 65,000 SMEs in the three...
A new funding platform for small and medium companies (SMEs), Funding Societies, has entered Thailand to provide their fundraising services to SMEs and startups in the country, according to February 10 release.
Funding Societies was founded in 2015 in Singapore as a digital finance and crowdfunding platform and was the first to engage an escrow agency to independently and safely manage investors’ funds, it says. Meanwhile, it expanded to Indonesia and Malaysia with its peer-to-peer lending business model and has since offered crowdfunded loans to more than 65,000 SMEs in the three countries with over $1.5 billion in funding from retail and institutional investors.
The company is backed by venture investors such as Sequoia India, Softbank Ventures Asia Corp, Qualgro and Line Ventures, amongst others.
Access to alternative capital
After having obtained a debt crowdfunding license by the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission on February 2, the company is now expanding to Thailand, targeting Thai SMEs, startups and entrepreneurs by giving access to alternative capital providers.
Thailand has more than three million SMEs, according to the company, but more than half of them face multiple challenges in obtaining financing in a conventional way from banks, especially to meet short term working capital requirements.
Traditional financial institutions focus on long term and asset-backed loans, leaving a SME financing gap of over $40 billion, as per the International Finance Corporation, according to the release. This lack of funding has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic as lenders have attempted to reduce their loan exposures in order to manage risk.
“SMEs contribute over 40 per cent to the Thai GDP but face numerous challenges in accessing finance from traditional sources due to lack of collateral, onerous document requirements and lengthy approval processes,” says Varun Bhandari, country head of Funding Societies Thailand.
Diversified crowdfunding investment at low default rates
“By leveraging technology, Funding Societies offers SMEs a new avenue for raising financing that is fast, affordable and convenient. Thai investors will also get an opportunity to diversify their investments and earn attractive fixed income returns, while supporting local businesses and brands,” he added.
Funding Societies says it offers a range of collateral-free financing to help SMEs with their business expansion, working capital needs or up-front project costs. Applications can be made online by submitting basic documents, the company noted.
In turn, for investors, contributions to the crowdfunding platform would play a big role in diversifying their investments and help enhance overall portfolio returns, the company said, asserting that its risk controls have restricted defaults to below two per cent even amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
