SME lending platform Validus Capital has become Singapore’s first fintech to be approved as a Participating Financial Institution (PFI) under the Enterprise Singapore’s (ESG) Enterprise Financing Scheme.
Singapore fintech Validus has been onboarded under a scheme that provides working capital solutions to SMEs, joining banks and established financial institutions such as DBS, OCBC Bank, United Overseas Bank and Hong Leong Finance, according to an announcement on Thursday.
The financing scheme, which is part of the Singapore government's initiatives to support the needs of local businesses amid the pandemic, aims to enable Singapore enterprises to access financing more readily throughout their various stages of growth and offers up to 90-percent risk-sharing.
Validus co-founder Nikhilesh Goel said that by being part of the scheme, he hopes the firm can «play a much larger role in addressing the financing needs of underserved SMEs and those impacted by the pandemic.»
Strong Demand
«As the global health crisis continues to inflict hardship on every sector, we’ve witnessed a sustained demand for unsecured loans from viable SMEs not just in Singapore, but across all our markets in the region, looking to prime their business for recovery and growth,» Ajit Raikar, Validus co-founder and executive chairman, said.
Founded in 2015, Validus brings together accredited individual and institutional lenders and SMEs on a peer-to-peer lending platform. In November, the startup expanded into Vietnam, its third market after Singapore and Indonesia. In May, it raised $14 million in its ongoing Series B+ funding round led by Vertex Growth, with follow-on funding from Vertex Ventures SEA & India.
Validus has disbursed over S$550 million ($405.44 million) in SME loans since its founding in 2015.
