Validus secures US$20M in ongoing Series B funding round to strengthen SEA presence
Singapore startup Validus has secured US$20 million in an ongoing Series B round from investment firm Vertex Growth Fund and Orion Fund managed by K3 Venture Partners.
Dutch public-private development bank FMO, Vertex Ventures, Openspace Ventures, Thailand’s Siam Cement Group, and existing investor Vietnam’s VinaCapital Ventures, also participated in this round.
The new capital will be used by the company to invest in technology and data capabilities to further improve the use of its AI and machine learning as well as to establish a strong presence in the ASEAN market. It has also revealed plans to fund its new upcoming venture in Thailand which has been slated for Q4 2020.
Founded in 2015, Validus is a financing platform which uses data analytics and AI to avail growth financing to underserved SMEs. The company’s goal is to drive inclusive growth for SMEs and economies in the ASEAN region.
With a presence in Indonesia and Vietnam, it holds a Capital Market Service (CMS) licence by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
According to the Economic Impact Report conducted in November last year, over 300,000 Singaporeans had directly or indirectly benefited from Validus’ SME financing platform. Additionally, SMEs that obtained financing from the platform experienced a 17 per cent increase in their annual revenue in 2018.
Despite the current environment, fintech startups in Southeast Asia continue to rake in funding. For example, Helicap, KoinWorks, Finhay, to name a few have all raised funds during recent times.
In that respect, the financial services sector can be seen as one of the bright spots in an otherwise gloomy environment of unemployment and layoffs at companies of all sizes. Validus is no different as it bets on the growing demand for SME growth financing.
“Fintechs with a robust platform and resilient leadership, who can survive and thrive in these unprecedented times will be leaders of tomorrow. We are grateful and honoured by the vote of confidence from our Investors,” said Nikhilesh Goel, co-founder of Validus.
“The industry is crossing an inflection point where demand for SME growth financing and cash flow management is increasing exponentially, and we are confident that Validus is well-positioned to meaningfully address the SME financing gap as they continue their prudent approach to growth during this period,” said James Lee, Managing Director, Vertex Growth.
With that said, Goel also puts the Singaporean government to light commending their support provided to help “businesses tide over these trying times”.
On February 18, Singapore’s Minister for Finance unveiled several measures to help SMEs manage their cash flow better amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’d like to commend the Singapore Government for the extensive SME relief measures designed to help businesses tide over these trying times, as well as the various government agencies who work closely with many financial institutions and platforms including Validus to support SMEs further and help to bolster their frontline responses to the pandemic,” Goel continued.
Validus launched its Indonesian entity, Batumbu, and Vietnam entity, Validus Vietnam, last May and November to help drive business financing for SME’s in the region.