Profitable Singaporean blockchain startup banks $2.5m from Walden

Photo credit: Dltledgers

Dltledgers, a Singapore-headquartered blockchain startup that facilitates cross-border trade, has secured a US$2.5 million investment from Walden International. The cash infusion is the firm’s first institutional funding and is part of its ongoing pre-series A round.

Founded in 2017 by Samir Neji, Dltledgers simplifies the process for companies that buy and sell goods overseas. The startup created a blockchain-based solution for traders to interact with their suppliers and banks directly. It currently operates in Australia, Dubai, the UK, and some markets in Southeast Asia.

According to Neji, the funds will bankroll the creation of new products and Dltledgers’s expansion to nearby countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It’s also looking to extend its reach to Japan and Vietnam as well as eastern Africa in the future.

Digitizing manual processes

Cross-border trade is mired with issues like mistrust, fraud, and goods mismanagement. Each step may also involve dozens of documents, ad hoc meetings, and negotiations.

For example, if a Malaysian agriculture commodities trader wants to export to an Australian buyer, the parties will first have to agree on the shipment rates. There’s no guarantee that the Australian buyer will pay up once the goods are sent, nor is there assurance that the Malaysian seller will send the products when they receive the payment.

As such, both the seller and buyer have to approach their respective banks to make the trade happen. One thing banks can do is issue a letter of credit assuring the seller that they will be paid as soon as the buyer receives the goods.

Once the contract is settled, more documents need to be filled out and submitted for production, shipment, and other procedures.

The entire process could take months, but Dltledgers cuts this to a day – and everything happens digitally. By using blockchain smart contracts, buyers on the platform can automate the trade flow by building digital contracts that each party consents to.

The startup’s blockchain-based solution can be accessed from the cloud, and customers can either use it to build their own trade networks or integrate it into existing enterprise systems. Currently, Dltledgers supports integration into software from SAP, Microsoft, and Google Cloud Platform.

Once the buyer or seller begins the process of trade, the blockchain network automatically logs that information, and all relevant parties are informed.

Bank documents, supply chain forms, and logistics records can also be uploaded directly to the platform, making the process more transparent.

Another thing that Dltledgers enables is tracking. “Certain industries like agriculture need to know where goods come from and where they are going. That information is all there on the platform,” says Neji.

For example, a commercial invoice uploaded to the platform by a supplier is automatically visible to all parties in real time, which streamlines the entire process. Since the action is recorded on the blockchain, it also cannot be changed or tampered with, thus limiting fraudulent activity.

A platform for traders