Funding Societies | Modalku Clinched Top Honour At The Global SME Finance Awards 2022

Funding Societies | Modalku Group won Platinum in the Category of Responsible Digital Innovator of the year at the 2022 Global SME Finance Awards held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, during the Global SME Finance Forum 2022 that took place between 19-21 September.

Our COO of Funding Societies Thailand, Vikas Jain, accepting the award

The awards honour outstanding financial institutions that expanded exceptional fintech products and services to small and medium enterprise (SME) clients. 2022 saw the largest field of applicants ever, presided by close to 100 expert and unbiased judges.

Funding Societies has spearheaded extensive SME financing throughout Southeast Asia, so we’re glad to receive this recognition .

One of the judges anonymously noted Funding Societies’ impressive track record of a vast number of SMEs served, the amount of funding we provide, and our expansive geographic reach. Another judge approved of Funding Societies’ recent offering of cutting-edge technological products that fulfil clients’ ever-expanding demands.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) pays particular attention toSMEs because most economies in developing countries rely heavily on them.

Many of the world’s new jobs and rising living standards are due to the contributions of small and medium-sized enterprises. They account for more than half of all jobs and 90% of all businesses worldwide.

Despite all these economic contributions, SMEs have always faced problems with obtaining working capital from traditional financial institutions, making way for disruptive lenders to plug the gap. In 2020, the total amount of loans made to SMEs hit a record high, growing by 4.9% due to the pandemic.

Here is a look at the Funding Societies demonstration and more about the Global SME Finance Awards.

Why they chose Funding Societies

Funding Societies presented an investor-friendly business model demonstrating a profitable and fast-growing financing business with the potential for a significant positive social impact.

They embarked on a mission to fill the SME financing gap in Southeast Asia and provide short-term fixed-income investment vehicles for institutions and individuals. Client’s can choose from various financing options, while investors have a raft of investment products to pick from too.

The approach’s viability and an independent and positive evaluation of its impact on society left a favourable impression on the judges.

This is not the first time that Funding Societies has won an award from the Global SME Finance Forum. Funding Societies has consistently shown strength in their viability of concept and impact on the world, which explains its previous win in 2021.

In all, Funding Societies has compiled a highly effective, insightful, and well-put-together contribution that speaks specifically to the values outlined in the principles of responsible funding.

What Funding Societies Had to Say

When speaking about the award, Founding Societies’ Group CEO and Co-founder, Kelvin Teo, said, “We’re honoured to receive the Platinum Award and be recognised as the Responsible Digital Innovator of the Year. Since our inception, Funding Societies has given out more than US$2.6B loans to SMEs across 5 countries in SE Asia, namely Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. We’ve taken a technologically driven approach to offer a wide range of short-term financing products for a wide range of SMEs. Next step for us is to expand into serving other financial needs of SMEs. We like to thank our shareholders such as Sequoia, Softbank and SMBC Bank, as well as lenders such as HSBC Bank, Triodos and other institutions. Moving forward, we hope to work with all our stakeholders to continue to support our SMEs in Southeast Asia through the recession.”

About the Global SME Finance Awards

The IFC is a member of the World Bank Group, and the SME Finance Forum organises the Global SME Finance Awards. The G20’s Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) also supports it.

Created in 2018 and currently in its fifth year, the Global SME Finance Awards honours the dedication and success of financial institutions and FinTech startups in serving the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) market.

Interested to contribute to what we do and drive impact on SMEs across Southeast Asia? Check out our careers page below.

Funding Societies Careers