Singapore-headquartered fintech lending platform Validus announced on Tuesday that it has secured USD 20 million—with USD 14 million already raised and the rest in committed capital—in its ongoing series B+ funding round that was co-led by Vertex Growth Fund and Kuok Group’s Orion Fund managed by K3 Venture Partners.
Other participants in the round include the Dutch public-private development bank FMO, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, Openspace Ventures, Thailand’s AddVentures (owned by Siam Cement Group), and Vietnam’s VinaCapital Ventures. Validus raised USD 15 million in its Series B in February last year.
The firm said it will use the fresh capital to invest heavily in technology and innovation, and to strengthen its position in three ASEAN markets. Last year, Validus was setting up shop in Indonesia and Vietnam. An expansion to Thailand is expected for Q4 2020.
Founded in 2015 by Ajit Raikar, Nikhilesh Goel, and Vikas Nahata, Validus operates a lending platform for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The company obtained a CMS license from Singapore’s regulator MAS in December 2017.
“Fintechs with a robust platform and resilient leadership, who are able to survive and thrive in these unprecedented times will be leaders of tomorrow. We are grateful and honoured by the vote of confidence from our Investors,” said Validus co-founder Nikhilesh Goel in a press statement.
“We’d also like to commend the Singapore Government for the extensive SME relief measures designed to help businesses tide over these trying times, as well as the various government agencies who work closely with many financial institutions and platforms including Validus to further support SMEs and help to bolster their frontline responses to the pandemic,” Goel added.
“The industry is crossing an inflection point where demand for SME growth financing and cash flow management is increasing exponentially, and we are confident that Validus is well positioned to meaningfully address the SME financing gap as they continue their prudent approach to growth during this period,” said James Lee, Managing Director at Vertex Growth.