Vietnamese Unicorn VNG injects $22.5 mln into Funding Societies

In the Series C+ funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Funding Societies raised a total of $144 million. Rapyd Ventures, Indies Capital, K3 Ventures and Ascend Vietnam Ventures also participated the round.

Besides the amount, the company also received $150 million in debt lines from institutional lenders across Europe, the United States, and Asia, some of which have been drawn down since 2021. This comes on the back of its $45 million Series C raised between 2020 and 2021.

The funds solidify Funding Societies' position as a market leader in digital financing, and propels its expense management, and B2B payments services for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across Southeast Asia. Its latest fundraise also provides $16 million to former and existing employees via the company's stock option plan, in the form of share buyback.

These funds help strengthen Funding Societies' position as the region's market leader in digital capital financing, while also promoting cost management and B2B payments services for businesses. micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) across Southeast Asia.

Funding Societies was founded in 2015 by Kelvin Teo and Reynold Wijaya out of Harvard Business School to empower MSMEs in Southeast Asia.

The FinTech company solves MSMEs' key pain points for growth, starting with the region's $300 billion financing gap. Although small enterprises make up almost 99% of total enterprises in Southeast Asia, they also face many hurdles in obtaining business loans from traditional financial institutions due to a lack of a credit track record or collaterals to pledge.

Funding Societies offers microloans from $500 up to $1.5 million, which can be disbursed in as fast as 24 hours, answering in a timely manner to MSMEs who face the pertinent challenge of accessing business funds.

Instead of using a traditional corporate supply chain approach to financial inclusion, Funding Societies has differentiated itself as a one-stop shop in SME financing with an AI-led credit model and value-added products to under-served businesses.

Seven years in, the FinTech company is now licensed and registered in four countries across the region - Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and operating in Vietnam. 

To date, it has disbursed over $2 billion in business financing to MSMEs through more than 5 million loan transactions in Southeast Asia.

Funding Societies' annualised loan origination has exceeded $1 billion in Q4 2021. Separately, a portion of the Group's outstanding loan exposure comes from Europe-based institutional lenders.

Since 2019, Funding Societies has expanded its suite of financial services beyond lending and plans to bring its operations to more locations in Southeast Asia within the next 12 months.