banco (RABC Group) has raised USD $6.7 million in Series A funding. The round was led by SBI Group, alongside investors Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), R3, Savills, KZM & Company, and others.
Based in Singapore and founded in 2018, banco has subsidiaries in both China and Japan. The banco platform aims to utilize the RABC group’s expertise in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) lending to develop sector-focused and sustainable financial solutions for MSMEs.
Yoshitaka Kitao, CEO of SBI Holdings, said there will be collaborations between SBI, SMBC, R3, and banco, to offer more inclusive financing solutions. “We believe that banco will grow to be the leader in its sector.”
In Japan, the SBI Group has utilised digital platforms to provide a financial ecosystem centering on securities, banking, and insurance.
Lincoln Yin, co-founder & CEO of banco, said the funding will help them focus on the future of leveraging their Fintech abilities to create sustainable financial services for MSMEs in Asia.
banco added that it has also recently partnered with real estate advisor, Savills to digitise financing solutions in the property industry.
Yin noted that in Southeast Asia, MSMEs generate over 50% of GDP but sill struggle to gain access to capital.
“Moreover, as ASEAN is adapting to climate change, it is increasingly important to ensure that MSMEs are included and incentivised to become greener and sustainable is critical, as the region pivots towards a more sustainable path of development. Technology and new data-driven financial products will play an important role in improving the access to sustainable finance for MSME.”
