Validus banks first tranche of series C round

Validus, a Singapore-based fintech firm, has raised an undisclosed sum as part of the first tranche of its series C-1 round. The fundraise came from NongHyup Financial Group, NorinChukin Bank, Aizawa Asset Management, and Lotte F&L Singapore.

Validus co-founders Vikas Nahata (left) and Nikhilesh Goel / Photo credit: Validus

Existing investors including Vertex Southeast Asia and India, Vertex Growth Fund, FMO Entrepreneurial Development Bank, and VinaCapital Ventures also participated in the round.

The company previously said that its series C funding will be used to launch neobanking products in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Validus was founded in 2015 by Vikas Nahata, Ajit Raikar, and Nikhilesh Goel. It offers SME loans, business accounts, corporate cards, as well as payments and expense management services.

To date, Validus has disbursed loans worth over US$2 billion in total to SMEs in Southeast Asia. It also counts the likes of AddVentures by SCG and Openspace Ventures as its backers.

“Validus has been leading the push for financial inclusion in the region by providing much needed financing relief to SMEs, such as collateral-free financing options and liquidity through access to a pool of investors,” said Genping Liu, partner at Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India.

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In August, Validus partnered with global banking major Citi to establish a US$100 million securitization facility, which is collateralized by SME loans disbursed by Validus in Singapore.

Earlier in January, Validus Vietnam, TTC Group, and Do Ventures also launched a joint venture that focuses on empowering SMEs in Vietnam through financial inclusion initiatives.