P2P lender Validus eyes Indonesia, Vietnam after $15m funding

Singapore-based Validus Capital has raised US$15.2 million in funding to push into Indonesia and Vietnam, it announced today.

The peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform’s series B round was led by Netherlands development bank FMO. Also joining the round were Openspace Ventures and Vertex Ventures from Singapore, Taiwan’s Cathay Financial, Vietnam’s VinaCapital Ventures, and AddVentures, the corporate venture unit of Thai conglomerate SCG.

(L to R) Arno de Vette, senior investment officer, FMO; Vikas Nahata, co-founder and executive chairman, Validus; Ajit Raikar, co-founder and CEO, Validus; Liu Genping, partner, Vertex Ventures / Photo credit: Validus Capital

Validus said the new funds will be used to further develop its AI capabilities, and to fund its expansion beyond Singapore.

Co-founder and CEO Ajit Raikar told media that the startup expects to launch in Indonesia during Q2 2019. It has applied to register as a tech-based lender with the country’s financial services regulator and signed up local tycoon dynasty, the Rachmat family, as its joint venture partner.

Raikar added that a Vietnam launch is planned for later this year.

Unlike other online P2P platforms that bring lending opportunities to retail savers, Validus focuses exclusively on linking accredited and institutional investors – including fund managers, family offices, and corporates – to small and medium-sized businesses seeking working capital and invoice financing loans. It claims this allows it to lend at “bank-like rates,” and has partnered with Visa to offer its borrowers a “virtual card” to assist them with cash flow.

The startup uses AI and machine learning to assess risk by analyzing things like financial data and behavioral patterns.

Validus says it has handed out over US$133 million in business funding since obtaining a capital markets services license for Singapore in December 2017.

Last year it disbursed almost 2,000 loans – a 260 percent increase on 2017 – while disbursement volume grew 350 percent year-on-year. Validus said that over 300,000 Singaporeans “were directly and indirectly positively impacted” by its platform in 2018.

The startup last raised funding in July 2017, banking just over US$4 million in a series A round led by Temasek unit Vertex.

Currency converted from Singapore dollars. Rate: US$1 = S$1.35