Funding Societies Notched up Its 4th Market With Thailand Expansion
by Fintech News Singapore February 9, 2021Funding Societies, Southeast Asian SME digital financing platform, has launched in Thailand and will operate under the debt-crowdfunding license given by Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission.
This expansion comes after more than one year of working with Thai regulators and planning for market entry. Operating in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, Thailand will be the fintech’s fourth market in its six years of operations.
Thailand is the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia and like many emerging economies in the region, much of Thailand’s GDP comes from small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
According to a paper published by the Asian Development Bank Institute, SMEs account for 99.8% of companies and generate 14 million jobs in Thailand, contributing US$215 billion to the nation’s GDP.
This leaves an SME financing gap of over US$40 billion in Thailand according to the International Finance Corporation.
This lack of funding has been exacerbated by the pandemic as lenders attempt to reduce their loan exposures to manage risk, making the credit gap not only critical but a lucrative opportunity as well.
For Thailand’s retail investors, Funding Societies’ crowdfunding solutions will offer a new avenue for diversifying their portfolio from other asset classes.
Funding Societies said that investors can expect investment opportunities with interest rates of 8% to 13% per annum.
Kelvin Teo
Kelvin Teo, Co-founder and Group CEO of Funding Societies said,
“Funding Societies’ vision has always been to financially enable growth for SMEs, while growing wealth for investors. Having built a market-leading presence in Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, we’re excited to bring our vision to Thailand and launch today.
We’ll also be able to better support Singapore companies expanding into Thailand and vice versa.”
Varun Bhandari, Country Head of Funding Societies Thailand, said,
Varun Bhandari
“By leveraging technology, Funding Societies offers SMEs a new avenue of accessing business financing that is fast, affordable and convenient. The crowdfunding landscape in the country is growing steadily and we see a lot of potential here.
We look forward to driving financial inclusion in Thailand and helping to uplift the country’s economy.”
Featured image: (Left to right): Kelvin Teo, Co-founder and Group CEO, Funding Societies and Varun Bhandari, Country Head, Funding Societies Thailand
