Funding Societies raises new capital from Khazanah to expand Malaysian footprint

Funding Societies Malaysia co-founder and CEO Wong Kah Meng | Photo credit: Funding Societies

Singapore-headquartered MSME lending platform Funding Societies has raised an investment from Khazanah Nasional, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, and CGC Digital, a subsidiary of Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia. The amount is undisclosed.

The investment was made under Khazanah’s Dana Impak mandate, which invests in Malaysian companies that can deliver sustainable economic and societal values.

With the fresh funds, Funding Societies aims to expand its Malaysian operations beyond Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang, and Johor, as well as to serve more than 25,000 MSMEs across Malaysia by the end of 2025.

It will also widen the reach of Funding Societies’ Islamic financing solutions. Launched in May 2023, it has disbursed over 100 million ringgit (over US$21.5 million) in Shariah-compliant financing in Malaysia.

Aside from Malaysia and its Singapore headquarters, Funding Societies is also present in Indonesia (under the Modalku name), Thailand, and Vietnam.

In November last year, it secured US$7.5 million in debt funding from Norfund, a Norwegian state-owned investor. The funds came a few months after it laid off 18% of its Indonesia workforce in pursuit of a “leaner organizational structure.”

See also: Funding Societies posts 84% revenue jump in 2022 as losses grow

Currency converted from ringgit to US dollar: US$1 = 4.63 ringgit.