Cool Japan Fund-backed Funding Societies secures investment from Gobi Partners
Funding Societies | Modalku, the largest SME digital finance platform in Southeast Asia, has announced a strategic equity investment from Gobi Partners, an Asia-focused venture capital firm. This investment underscores strong investor confidence in Funding Societies' business model, resilience, and commitment to bridging the region's SME credit gap, even amid broader fintech market challenges.
This investment comes only months after Funding Societies raised US$25 million in equity investment from Cool Japan Fund, and at a time when lenders and investors have become increasingly cautious toward fintech firms following industry challenges. Gobi Partners' backing reinforces Funding Societies' financial stability and continued growth over the past decade in SME financing and its foray into payments since 2022 – distinguishing it as a trusted, well-managed platform for underserved businesses across the region.
As Southeast Asia's SME sector continues to face a significant credit gap – estimated at over US$2.5 trillion – Funding Societies remains at the forefront of delivering innovative financing solutions tailored to small and medium-sized enterprises. This investment from Gobi Partners will help further enhance Funding Societies' technology-driven approach, leveraging AI and automation to streamline lending processes and improve risk management.
Despite economic uncertainties, Funding Societies remains committed to its mission of empowering SMEs with tailored digital financial products that address their evolving needs. The company has already disbursed over US$4 billion in business financing to approximately 100,000 SMEs, and processed an annualised payments gross transactions value (GTV) of over US$1.4 billion. As digital financial services remain a key driver of financial inclusion in the region, the partnership with Gobi Partners will enable Funding Societies to expand its reach and continue supporting SMEs that drive local economies.
Funding Societies is well-positioned to maintain its trajectory of growth while upholding responsible lending practices that ensure long-term sustainability with the strong backing from investors and lenders from the successful milestones achieved in 2024. This includes equity investments from Cool Japan Fund and Maybank, and a third annual credit facility from HSBC's ASEAN Growth Fund which is part of an accumulative commitment of over US$100 million credit facility with the bank.
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