Co-founder and chief executive officer Wong Kah Meng said the pandemic had paved a new era of digital inclusion.
Co-founder and chief executive officer Wong Kah Meng said the pandemic had paved a new era of digital inclusion.

KUALA LUMPUR: Funding Societies Malaysia Sdn Bhd has disbursed RM1 billion of business financing across more than 17,000 deals, directly supporting creditworthy underserved micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) nationwide.

The milestone comes as the platform, the largest SME digital financing platform in Southeast Asia, enters its fifth year of operations in the country.

Co-founder and chief executive officer Wong Kah Meng said the pandemic had paved a new era of digital inclusion.

"This simultaneously allows us to scale further in reaching out to more of these creditworthy micro SMEs in line with their increased awareness on digital financing platforms.

"This RM1 billion disbursement milestone is a reflection of the thousands of underserved creditworthy SMEs we have supported over the years, not just in Malaysia, but also across Southeast Asia," he said in a statement today.

Learning from the challenges and uncertainties it faced in the past two years, the platform was in a better position to react and to adjust its business model and risk underwriting,

resulting in 100 per cent growth of financing deals in 2021 compared to the previous year while maintaining a default rate of around 3 per cent.

Funding Societies has over the years championed SME digital financing with over 60 per cent market share via tailored financing solutions befitting the varied business needs of SMEs.

With a fully online on-boarding process, the platform addresses typical challenges SMEs face when obtaining financing solutions, including collateral requirements, physical documentation submission and lengthy processes.

Funding Societies also fared well in its investors segment as the platform has onboarded more than 50,000 investors to date, a testament of the trust by investors.

It has also introduced several new investment products within the last year to cater for investors actively seeking to diversify their portfolios.

Funding Societies remains bullish of its growth trajectory this year.

"Based on our forecast, we look to disburse more than RM500 million in financing this year, with the strong support from all our stakeholders," Wong said.

By providing equal access to financing for MSMEs, Funding Societies aims to boost the economy post-pandemic, by making available various financing products, schemes, and initiatives for the MSMEs who are the backbone of Malaysia's economy.

Regionally, the platform has reached RM8.5 billion total financing disbursement as of January.