Maybank, a dedicated banking partner to more than 1 million small and medium enterprises across ASEAN, today announced a strategic investment in Funding Societies | Modalku (Funding Societies), which is said to be the largest unified digital finance platform for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Southeast Asia.
In conjunction with this investment, Maybank will explore “collaborative synergies with Funding Societies to promote inclusivity and bridge funding gaps within the communities it serves.”
The transaction represents the inaugural investment “under a new initiative at Maybank to strategically invest and partner with best-in-class digitally-enabled organisations across ASEAN.”
This investment forms part of Maybank’s approach “to accelerate innovation to serve the MSME community. It aligns with Maybank’s M25+ strategic thrust, aiming to accelerate digitalisation through ecosystem orchestration within and beyond the banking sector.”
Established in 2015, Funding Societies is described as being “a regional financial technology company that specialises in providing financing to MSMEs.”
Since its inception, Funding Societies has reportedly “disbursed over US$4 billion in business financing, positively impacting more than 100,000 businesses across Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.”
In Malaysia, Funding Societies was one of “the first entities registered as a Recognised Market Operator by the Securities Commission Malaysia.”
Dato’ Khairussaleh Ramli, President & Group CEO of Maybank, said SMEs are the backbone of ASEAN economies and their backing of Funding Societies highlights their commitment to this sector.
Co-founder and Group CEO of Funding Societies, Kelvin Teo the partnership reaffirms their dedication to extending credit access to underserved MSMEs that face cash flow challenges – “an area we are progressively expanding to help these businesses fulfil their business potential.”
