After a string of high-profile backings in 2024, Funding Asia Group, the parent of Southeast Asian digital lender Funding Societies, reported lower losses for the year on the back of higher revenue and tighter cost controls.
The Singapore-headquartered MSME-focused lender, known as Modalku in Malaysia and Indonesia, posted a net loss of $39.3 million for 2024, narrowing from $48.5 million in the previous year, filings with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) show.
The improved bottom line came as revenue grew 11% year on year to $54.3 million, while other income nearly doubled to $4.1 million, driven by expanding lending and payment operations across the region.
Operating expenses remained elevated, with payment service costs surging to $14.1 million from $7 million in 2023, and finance costs rising slightly to $18.6 million.
Still, the company managed to offset some of these increases through lower employee expenses, which fell to $25.9 million from $29.2 million, and a moderation in loan impairment losses to $19.5 million.
The improved performance coincided with a flurry of strategic investments. In January, Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad and CGC Digital invested in the firm.
This was followed by an equity infusion from Maybank in September, part of the lender’s M25+ digitalisation strategy. In November, Funding Societies secured a third credit facility from HSBC under the bank’s $1-billion ASEAN Growth Fund, bringing total commitments from HSBC to over $100 million.
In December, Japan’s Cool Japan Fund injected $25 million into Funding Societies, marking its first fintech investment in Southeast Asia.
Top shareholders of Funding Societies
Founded in 2015, Funding Societies counts SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Peak XV Partners, SMBC Bank, Alpha JWC Ventures, VNG Corporation, and BRI Ventures among its backers. The firm has evolved beyond SME lending into digital payments, cards, and embedded finance, aiming to become a full-stack fintech platform serving MSMEs across Southeast Asia.
As of 2024, the company said it has extended over $4 billion in financing to more than 100,000 businesses across Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The platform provides micro loans ranging from $500 to $1.5 million, which can be released in as little as 24 hours.
