Funding Societies | Modalku, the Singapore-based small and medium enterprise (SME) digital financing platform, has on Wednesday announced that its Thai business (Funding Societies Thailand) has reached THB1 billion ($27.8 million) in loan disbursements to small businesses in the country for year-to-date 2022.

In a statement, Funding Societies said the FinTech firm looks to expand its reach to financing SMEs in new business segments, as it targets aggressive growth of over THB2 billion ($55.6 million), in loan disbursements, in the next 12 months.

Since securing the Thai license in 2021, the firm has been widening the access to financing for business owners, in line with the country’s next phase of growth under the Thai government’s ‘Thailand 4.0’ economic model, by leveraging technology to better serve the needs of the country’s SMEs.

“Reaching the THB1 billion milestone is a testament to market need, Thai SMEs’ faith in us and our Thai team’s effort,

“Thailand is a key market for us, as we continue to empower SMEs in Southeast Asia to grow their businesses through good and bad times, serving their financing and non-financing needs,” said Kelvin Teo, Co-Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of Funding Societies | Modalku.

As the backbone of the economy, Thai SMEs represent over a significant portion of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), making up 99 percent of all enterprises in Thailand, equivalent to over 3.1 million businesses.

However, the majority of these businesses face multiple challenges in obtaining financing, especially to meet short-term working capital requirements. These include lack of loan collateral, arduous documentation requirements, and lengthy approval process.

This further restricts SMEs from accessing financing via traditional institutions like brick-and-mortar banks and subsequently, contributed to the staggering SME financing gap of more than $40 billion.

Funding Societies opined that Thailand’s SMEs have the potential to contribute more to our country’s GDP in the coming years and remain resilient despite the macroeconomic challenges.

By leveraging on technology to expand its range of financing solutions, Funding Societies intends to better serve businesses beyond the greater Bangkok metropolitan area, working towards the FinTech’s vision to empower Thai SMEs to grow their businesses through tailored solutions that are fast, affordable and convenient.

Funding Societies has a track record of loan disbursement of over $2.9 billion through more than 5.1 million transactions across the region.

This milestone achieved for the Thai market comes at the heels of the the firm signing a credit facility of $50 million with HSBC, its recent acquisition of regional digital payments platform CardUp (subject to regulatory approval), as part of a series of efforts to diversify its services beyond lending.

The digital financing platform also achieved several strategic milestones including its Series C+ equity raise of $144 million in February, its investment into Bank Index in Indonesia, and market entry into Vietnam – its fifth market.

Funding Societies | Modalku is the largest SME digital financing platform in Southeast Asia. It is licensed in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, registered in Malaysia, and operates in Vietnam.

It is backed by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, SoftBank Ventures Asia, Sequoia Capital India, Alpha JWC Ventures, SMBC Bank, BRI Ventures, VNG Corporation, Rapyd Ventures, Endeavor, EBDI, SGInnovative, Qualgro, and Golden Gate Ventures among others.

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