Aura will work as a sub-manager to a fund run by the specialists in Asian alternative credit, which aims to facilitate lending capital to over 300 million unbanked and underbanked people in the region.
Helicap Investments (HIPL), a Singapore-based fintech platform that provides alternative lending services in Southeast Asia, has appointed Aura Group as a sub-manager for one of its funds, according to an announcement on Wednesday.
The partnership leverages the risk management process and tech-enabled due diligence of HIPL, as well as Aura’s expertise in the credit sector in both Singapore and Australia.
«With a $500 billion credit gap, consumers and MSMEs in Southeast Asia and Australia region are eager for sustainable alternative lending solutions, which we are looking to provide,» Quentin Vanoekel, HIPL chief investment officer, said about the partnership.
Alternative Lending Market
«The alternative lending sector provides a low correlation to other traditional asset classes to investors and promotes access to sustainable debt financing for underbanked and unbanked borrowers in the region,» Helicap said. Its subsidiary companies HIPL and Arcor Capital provide curated access to alternative debt investments for a wide network of investors, including family offices, high-net-worth individuals, impact funds, and institutional investors.
The company was founded in January 2018 and has raised $18 million in funding so far, and is backed by East Ventures and Soilbuild Group. In April, the startup raised another $10 million in an investment round led by Saison Capital, the corporate venture capital arm of Japanese consumer finance firm Credit Saison.
So far, the firm has made investments eight alternative lending platforms in Asia, including in Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines. In August 2019, it acquired securities firm Arcor Capital for an undisclosed sum.
