Maybank president and group CEO Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli
PETALING JAYA: Maybank remains committed to driving financial inclusion as it announced a strategic investment in a unified digital platform for micro, small and medium enterprises in Southeast Asia, Funding Societies Modalku (Funding Societies).
Established in 2015, Funding Societies is a regional financial technology company that specialises in providing financing to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
In a statement, Maybank said this investment is in conjunction with its move into exploring collaborative synergies with Funding Societies to promote inclusivity and bridge funding gaps within the communities it serves.
President and group chief executive officer (GCEO) Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli said this investment in Funding Societies underscores the group's commitment to driving financial inclusion, in line with its purpose of humanising financial services.
“By leveraging our banking expertise alongside Funding Societies’ innovative digital platform, Maybank is committed to fostering a robust SME ecosystem and ensuring a brighter, more sustainable future for all,” he added.
The transaction represents the inaugural investment under a new initiative by the group to strategically invest and partner with best-in-class digitally-enabled organisations across Asean.
Additionally, the investment forms part of Maybank's approach to accelerate innovation to serve the MSME community, aligning with the groups’ M25+ strategic thrust which aims to accelerate digitalisation through ecosystem orchestration within and beyond the banking sector.
Since its inception, Funding Societies has disbursed over US$4bil in business financing to over 100,000 businesses across Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
In Malaysia, Funding Societies was one of the first entities registered as a recognised market operator by the Securities Commission Malaysia.
“This partnership reaffirms our dedication to extending credit access to underserved MSMEs that face cash flow management challenges – an area we are progressively expanding to help these businesses fulfil their business potential,” said Funding Societies co-founder and GCEO Kelvin Teo.
