Refy, a Singapore-based green asset fintech financier, has successfully secured a pre-seed investment of $525,000 from Wavemaker Impact (WMi) to accelerate its mission of unlocking the market for small- and mid-sized green assets within the commercial and industrial (C&I) sectors.
This funding will be deployed to execute secured pilot projects, develop its technical platform, and assemble a specialized team with experience in green assets and industrial projects, Refy said in a statement on Tuesday.
According to the statement, the market for small to mid-scale green assets remains vast and largely untapped, encompassing rooftop solar systems, wastewater treatment units, and electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.
In Southeast Asia alone, this sector is estimated to represent a $200 billion market.
However, despite the burgeoning demand from C&I companies, over 80 percent of green funds are currently allocated to utility-scale decarbonization projects.
Green assets often face deployment challenges or delays due to capital constraints among C&I companies and the difficulties project developers encounter in securing necessary funds.
Refy said it sees a significant opportunity to increase the bankability of these smaller green assets by supporting high-potential green asset project developers in two main ways.
Firstly, by providing innovative and flexible financing solutions to developers tailored to the nature and risk of the assets.
Secondly, offering an artificial intelligence（AI）-enabled technology platform that streamlines due diligence and project evaluation processes
Refy said investors can leverage their technology platform to assess incoming projects for quality and returns, facilitating access to proprietary deal flow and enhancing the bankability of green asset projects across Southeast Asia and beyond.
“Securing this pre-seed funding validates Refy’s vision and our commitment to transforming green asset project financing,
“Tackling climate change requires action that goes beyond rhetoric, and this support ensures that no worthy green project goes undeveloped due to financial constraints,” said Ed Chin, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Refy.
With a strategic focus on the $200 billion C&I sector market in Southeast Asia, Refy said it will adopt a multi-asset approach, initially targeting Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam before expanding across the region.
With a vision to achieve $100 million in revenue and mitigate 100 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the future, Refy said it aims to become the leading green asset financier in Southeast Asia, facilitating the deployment of $70 billion worth of green assets over the next decade.
“Greenhouse gas emissions from Asia’s emerging market and developing economies today are approximately 5 Gigatonne CO 2 equivalent (GtCO 2 e 1 ),
“Refy’s mission to catalyze the deployment of green assets that yield both operational improvements and decarbonization outcomes is much-needed, especially within hard-to-abate industry sectors,” said Steve Melhuish, Founding Partner at Wavemaker Impact.
“Ed’s past experiences in asset financing, combined with his deep passion for Impact, is a potent combination to realize Refy’s potential in becoming Southeast Asia’s largest green asset financier,
“We’re excited to lead this investment in Refy,” he added.
Refy is an AI-powered fintech platform in Southeast Asia, offering a unique blend of asset-based financing solutions tailored to project developers and investors, facilitating
the swift deployment of small- and mid-scale green assets.
By prioritizing decarbonization, Refy strives to eliminate barriers to project deployment stemming from issues related to bankability, thereby fostering a future where every green initiative can materialize.