SMALL and medium-sized enterprise (SME) supply-chain financing platform Validus received US$20 million in funding from 01Fintech, a Hong Kong-based growth-stage private equity (PE) firm co-founded by former Ant Group executive Kenny Man.

Headquartered in Singapore, Validus has operations in the city-state as well as Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Its platform uses proprietary data and artificial intelligence to offer SME-focused business finance solutions which include loans and payments and expense management services.

Since its founding in 2015, the company has disbursed over US$3 billion to small businesses across South-east Asia as at Nov 30, 2023.

It intends to use the fresh funding from 01Fintech to expand in fast-growing markets, such as Indonesia, to “enhance its technology innovation and solidify its position as the market leader in supply-chain financing”.

“01Fintech recognises the tremendous potential of Validus’ unique approach to SME financing, which has led to its rapid growth and partnerships with the world’s largest financial institutions such as Citibank and other major global banks,” said 01Fintech on Thursday (Dec 14).

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Other investors backing Validus included Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India; Vertex Growth; Dutch development bank FMO; and East Asian financial institutions such as Japan’s Norinchukin Bank and South Korea’s NongHyup Financial Group.

Validus co-founder and group chief executive Nikhilesh Goel said that 01Fintech’s investment will enable Validus to tap the PE firm’s expertise and vast network in the region.

He added: “The in-depth due diligence 01Fintech has done has shown their deep domain expertise and willingness to identify areas of growth to bring the company to the next level.

“We continue to stay focused on our mission of providing more accessible financial products and services to SMEs across South-east Asia, and look forward to a successful collaboration that will continue to drive innovation in supply-chain financing.”