Funding Societies | On Thursday, Modalku, the biggest unified digital finance platform for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Southeast Asia, revealed that it has secured a US$25 million equity investment from the Cool Japan Fund (CJF), a sovereign wealth fund in Japan.
Funding Societies said in a statement that the investment from CJF represents the fund’s first investment into a Fintech business in Southeast Asia.
In addition to further growing its payments business since starting it in 2022, Funding Societies stated that the investment will be used to strengthen its core business in SME lending across its five markets (Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam).
After ten years of assisting SMEs in realizing their full business potential, the company will concentrate on assisting companies in accelerating payment through creative finance and receivables solutions.
Additionally, it will use artificial intelligence (AI) and technology to automate and digitize the loan origination process.
These programs and collaborations between loans and payments support the business’s goals of expansion and profitability.
In order to support Japanese businesses, Funding Societies will also develop a collaboration with CJF through this investment, taking advantage of the latter’s solid track experience of working with SMEs in Southeast Asia.
By supporting the overseas business expansion of Japanese companies that provide these products and services, the partnership will help expand the demand for appealing products and services that are specific to Japanese lifestyle and culture abroad and promote positive commercial relations between Japanese companies and local SMEs in the region.
“We’re honored for the commitment from Cool Japan to collaborate and support Japanese companies expanding overseas,
“Many businesses we serve in Southeast Asia are Japanese firms, suppliers and/ or customers to them. Together with CJF, we intend to further strengthen these ties,” said Kelvin Teo, Co-founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of Funding Societies | Modalku.
It is said that the average yearly amount of Japanese direct investment in the ASEAN region was $18.6 billion.
In addition, Japanese corporations have established some 15,000 business establishments in the area.
Half of the top 10 destinations for overseas company development that 500 Japanese companies were asked to choose from in a 2024 study by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation were ASEAN nations.
