Singapore based peer to peer finance platform Funding Societies has announced a new partnership with Singapore E-Business Pte Ltd (SGeBIZ). The arrangement seeks to “provide quick financing solutions to local SME suppliers and their buyers.”
Funding Societies offers a diverse range of loan products, that are said to be easily accessible by SME owners. EzyProcure is said to be Singapore’s first B2B procure-to-pay platform – provided by SGeBiz.
Funding Societies points to a 2019 report conducted by Bain & Company in collaboration with Temasek and Google indicating that millions of Southeast Asia’s SMEs today still encounter large funding gaps. The survey anticipates innovations in SME working capital financing, similar to what platforms like Funding Societies are doing, to grow by more than 20% annually through 2025.
Funding Societies believes the partnership is another way to lower the barrier of access to working capital for small businesses as SMEs will now be able to access funds from Funding Societies on the SGeBIZ platform to improve and match their cash cycles, giving them an opportunity to grow their business.
SGeBIZ was launched in 2014 by two ex-Republic of Singapore Air Force aviators seeking to simplify the processes for SMEs through automating data entry and digitizing inventory, supply chain, and credit rails. Their flagship product, EzyProcure, is now a PEPPOL (Pan European Public Procurement On-Line) compliant and IMDA-approved access point provider supporting the E-Invoicing Initiative implemented nationwide last year.
The SGeBIZ solution now has more than 1,000 clients in Singapore. Having helped replace outdated processes like manual ordering, goods receiving, inventory tracking, and reconciliation and documentation of invoices, the company now aims to resolve a critical challenge that businesses sometimes encounter – cash flow.
“Any buyer or supplier will look forward to extended credit terms or collecting payments within two to three days from the delivery of goods and services because it helps mitigate challenges surrounding cash flow optimization and payment collection. Now, our win-win solution is a reality and is made available for all businesses to enjoy,” commented Edmund Louis Nathan, Group CEO of SGeBIZ.
Dheeraj Chowdhry, CEO Singapore of Funding Societies, said it is crucial that SMEs are financed quickly and with flexibility and have access to “steady cashflow.”
Funding Societies has originated over $1.1 billion in financing regionally, across more than 1.4 million loans funded by individual and institutional investors starting with individual investments as low as $20 per loan.
