Funding Societies hits US$145mil in SME crowdfunding
By Digital News Asia August 15, 2018
- Investor base has increased from about 40,000 to 75,000 since January 2018
- Funding Societies has achieved less than 1.5% in default rate
FUNDING Societies, a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform in Southeast Asia, surpassed the S$200 million (US$145.35 million) mark in total crowdfunded SME loans.
This achievement comes six months after crossing S$100 million (US$72.67 million) in January this year.
In the same period, its investor base has also increased from about 40,000 to 75,000, indicating strong demand from investors to support local SMEs while diversifying their investment portfolio.
Kelvin Teo, co-founder and CEO of Funding Societies commented, “It took 30 months to achieve our first S$100 million and six months for our second S$100 million. But the industry is still nascent. We’d continue to focus on serving SMEs’ and investors’ needs.”
Funding Societies provides business financing to underserved SMEs for their working capital and expansion needs across Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.
This is done through its digital marketplace platform where retail and institutional investors come together to lend to the SMEs. Businesses can avail loans ranging from just S$5,000 going up to S$2 million and with a quick turnaround time, as fast as two hours for loan approval and 24 hours for SMEs to receive the funds.
On the other spectrum, investors who lend to the SMEs through the platform receive up to 14% per annum in returns and can invest starting from just S$20 per loan.
In linking SMEs and investors, Funding Societies has achieved a notable track record of less than 1.5% in default rate, one of the lowest in the region.
According to the SME Development Survey by DP Information Group, 35% of SMEs in Singapore surveyed in 2017 face finance-related issues, up from just 14% in 2015.
This problem is further compounded, with 81% of these Singapore SMEs experiencing delayed payments from their customers, a jump from just 14% in the previous year.
The problem of cash flow management faced by SMEs is an issue that needs to be addressed.
Funding Societies is committed to supporting SMEs by providing more flexible business loans to suit the financing needs of these SMEs.
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