Singapore-headquartered Validus, a financing platform focused on SMEs, has secured more than $14 million in funding, with $20 million in committed capital, from a Series B+ investment round.
Validus’ round was co-led by Kuok Group’s Orion fund (managed by K3 Venture Partners) and the Vertex Growth fund.
Established in 2015, Validus offers a financing platform to consumers and businesses based in Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Business owners may access various financing options provided by accredited and institutional investors registered on the platform.
The capital raised will be allocated towards developing the firm’s technology stack, and to further build its position in its three major markets. The company is also planning to launch operations in Thailand toward the end of this year.
K3 Ventures’s MX Kuok remarked:
“We are highly impressed by the leadership and depth of credit management experience at Validus. The team has demonstrated the unique ability to capture critical data points, combined with comprehensive machine learning capabilities, to identify high-potential SMEs that may have fallen through the gaps of the traditional banking model.”
Validus had launched its Indonesian division, Batumbu, and Vietnam unit, Validus Vietnam, in May and November 2019, respectively.
Validus has submitted an application for a crowdfunding license to Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company said that the unmet SME credit demand in the country should be somewhere between $30 billion and $35 billion.
Validus has issued S$453 million in loans, to date. The firm’s non-performing loan ratio, which refers to loans that are past 90 days due, was 2.69% in 2019, which is up slightly from 2.5% from the previous year. The company says that 60% of its loans had been recovered, as of April 16, 2020.