The latest news about funds, direct investments, structured products and other offerings in the wealth management and associated space.

Funding Societies
A Southeast Asia digital financing platform for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, led by a syndicate of financial groups, has raised $18 million in debt led by Helicap Investments – a new debt fund – and a Japanese organisation. 

Funding Societies, as the platform is called, said in a statement yesterday that it is on track to raise $120 in institutional debt to fund the growth needs of MSMEs in the region. 

Established in 2015, Funding Societies provides MSMEs with business financing, which is funded largely by institutional lenders and retail investors. 

In Southeast Asia, MSMEs contribute to more than half of each ASEAN member state's GDP. However, because many lack a strong credit track record or collateral, they are often rejected for business loans by traditional financial institutions. (ASEAN members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.)

The platform enables access to finance by using alternative data points including but not limited to the MSME's cash flow - and its ability to repay the loan - to underwrite these loans.