Funding Societies Singapore: Year in Review 2023

2023 has been a great year for all of us at Funding Societies despite the macroeconomic headwinds this year. On a global scale, the forethought of the subject matter has affected many businesses, small and medium – but not Funding Societies. As a matter of fact, 2023 has been a year of new highs.

To start the year-in-review strong, we are proud to share that our efforts bore great fruits. The lending business experienced a whopping 1.6X growth in annual revenue. As the largest unified SME digital finance and debt investment platform in Southeast Asia, it’s no small feat.

We have also witnessed a 2.5X growth in contribution margin and profitability after provision. As an organisation that provides short-term financing to SMEs in Singapore, we have exceeded our own expectations.

Additionally, a 1.5X surge in loan disbursements underscores that our message resonates with SMEs, motivating them to explore alternative financing beyond traditional institutions for ongoing growth.

On the payments front, the topline Gross Transaction Value (GTV) achieved a robust growth of 43% month on month at the start of Q4, with November standing out as the pinnacle month, achieving an unprecedented record high in GTV compared to previous years. 

Elevate¹, in particular, demonstrated substantial growth on a monthly basis, notably in October, where it experienced a groundbreaking surge of 226% in GTV. This upward trajectory in growth shows no signs of slowing down as Elevate continues to fortify its performance into the fourth quarter, underscoring a sustained and impressive trend.

 

April 2023: A Record-breaking US$3 Billion and Delivery Hero Partnership

By just the fourth month of the year, Funding Societies have crossed a cumulative US$3 billion (S$4.1 billion) in SME lending since our inception. Made up of over 5 million transactions of business financing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the region, we have aided almost 100,000 SMEs in their quest for profitability, and will continue doing so! 

Our Co-founder and Group Chief Executive Officer, Kelvin Teo, has always believed that the challenges SMEs face extend beyond financing, hence the expansion of our solutions into payments and collections since last year. He also said, “While there are macro headwinds this year, we are optimistic to continue growing sustainably, like we did during COVID-19.  We will continue to stay nimble, innovate and scale up in financing, payments and other financial services – catering to various pain points of SMEs”. 

April was also the beginning of our partnership with Delivery Hero, the parent company of online food and grocery delivery platform, foodpanda. Food and beverage SMEs face a common challenge in managing their cash flow to meet fluctuating seasonal demands. Therefore, we teamed up to offer over 800 merchants our fast credit financing solutions, Elevate* Virtual Credit Line and Micro Loans. 

 

May 2023: Funding Societies X Dealcierge – SC Ventures

May marks the start of a new collaboration between Funding Societies and Dealcierge – a venture backed by SC Ventures, that connects business owners who are looking to sell their companies with potential buyers and investors. Naturally, financing solutions can make or break business strategies and M&A deals. Dealcierge coupled their M&A and equity raise services with our debt financing alternative to offer their customers flexibility in designing their business’ capital structure.

 

June 2023: Partnerships with Pracbiz, as well as Singapore Food Manufacturers’ Association (SMFA)

By the middle of the year, we had offered over 350 suppliers on Pracbiz’s e-commerce platform, Pracbiz Platform (PBX), the flexibility to react to dynamic demand peaks with a Revolving Credit line Line. The Pracbiz PBX platform is a digital transaction management platform that simplifies your procurement and collections processes to improve a business’ operational efficiency. The credit line is an important financial tool for users to draw upon, allowing them to ride the highs and navigate the lows of changing business cycles. 

We also had the privilege to work alongside the Singapore Food Manufacturers’ Association (SFMA), offering over 500 members and exhibitors of the Singapore Food Expo access to quick cash flow injections to support their participation in the event. These cash flow injections can help with booth rental and staff hire to support urgent opportunities arising from the event. 

 

September 2023: Funding Societies Raised US$27 million in debt funding

This is definitely one September to remember as Funding Societies raised US$27 million through debt funding, led by Asia-focused private credit financier AlteriQ Global, with multi-family office Aument Capital Partners (ACP), and sustainability-focused fund Orange Bloom. 

 

October 2023: The Launch of Elevate’s full suite of solutions, SME Southeast Asia Report, & Business Loan PRO 

In the month of October, Elevate1 launched its full suite of cash flow management tools on the Elevate for Business App. Elevate now gives insight on business cash flow, 1% unlimited cash back with a business debit card, an account to store and safekeep funds, automated payables and receivables features, as well as financing through a credit line. A dedicated website for Elevate  (previously known as Elevate Credit Line) was also launched to provide additional information about all the upgraded products and services that Elevate now offers.

The second highlight of the month is the release of our first-ever SME Digital Finance and Payments Behaviours: Southeast Asia Report 2023 Report. The report aimed to delve into the behaviours and challenges SMEs face and how using digital financing and payments can capture opportunities and efficiencies for these businesses. Using this, we surveyed nearly 980 SMEs in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – countries we operate in. With the insights gathered, we are geared to serve SMEs better for the years to come ensuring that our products are finely tuned to address their needs and aspirations.

Next is the launch of Business Term Loan PRO², Funding Societies’ first venture into longer-term lending, which offers up to a 36-month repayment tenor. Not only does it address the continual market demand for higher working capital, offering up to $300k, but Business Term Loan PRO also provides borrowers more breathing space for cash flow management due to its extended repayment period. Additionally, the loan is disbursed within 7 days, ensuring borrowers rapid access to cash flow to navigate challenging situations with agility.

 

November 2023: A US$7.5 Million Milestone & The Launch of Cross-Border Payments for Elevate & RCL

In November, Elevate Payables launched its cross-border payments feature. Before this, users could only make free local FAST transfers. With unbeatable exchange rates and 76% cheaper FX fees compared to traditional remittance providers, Elevate Payables is now more flexible than ever, allowing businesses with global operations to mobilise their finances further. 

Funding Societies have also managed to raise a whopping US$7.5 million in debt from Norfund, a Development Financial Institution (DFI) owned by the Norwegian government. This milestone is shared by both parties, as it also marks the first debt transaction by Norfund with a FinTech SME lender in Southeast Asia.

We also launched the Revolving Credit Line2 (RCL) in November, offering a collateral-free line limit of up to $100k to SMEs! While it’s not a new concept, businesses may not be familiar with its usage and benefits. The RCL provides better manoeuvrability for businesses to respond swiftly to challenges, contributing to an improved business credit score when used and re-paid correctly. This enhanced credit score, in turn, enables businesses to access higher loan amounts in the future. And of course, to make things easy for our borrowers,  only three documents are required for application!!

 

Growth in Payments Partnership with CardUp 

Since our acquisition of digital regional payments solution, CardUp last year, we acquired payment capabilities such as no-code online payment acceptance for a credit card, PayNow and the ability to enable card payments to non-card accepting recipients such as for rent, tax, supplier payments, both domestically and cross-border. Since then, our payments business has greatly expanded its partnerships with the likes of OCBC Bank, AMEX, Visa, MasterCard and Xero.

All in all, 2023 was bittersweet. As the boiling pot of recession was reaching its peak, everyone started having doubts, but not Funding Societies. Ultimately, we couldn’t have done it without every one of our team members! As Southeast Asia continues to brave through business challenges, we will keep our chin up and continue to fund the society that gave us their all.

We are very excited to share our plans for 2024, so stay tuned! Wishing everyone Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

 

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1 Elevate comprises of six (6) main products offered by CardUp Pte Ltd, with some products being provided in partnership with third parties who will provide the regulated services under each product. CardUp is a major payment institution licence holder under the Payment Services Act 2019. Click here to learn more. 

2 Fulfilled by FS Capital Pte Ltd

The information provided to you in this blog post is intended only for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice on any subject matter. The materials and the information provided are not intended to be and do not constitute an advertisement or solicitation. In no event will Funding Societies be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages for use of such information by you or any unauthorised third party.