Fintech as a sector has been exploding for the better part of a decade now. Fueled by mass amounts of new data and powerful algorithms, startups around the world have sprung up to innovate within a once stagnant industry. Within fintech, peer-to-peer lending quickly emerged as one of the biggest opportunities—Lending Club saw marked success in North America, as did ANT Financial in China. Validus is on a mission to bring that same level of innovation to ASEAN.
“When looking at Southeast Asia, more than 90% of loans to SMEs are collateralized, which means you’re not getting financing from classic lenders unless your business has hard collateral,” says co-founder and CEO Nikhilesh Goel. “At Validus, we look at alternative data sources for our credit assessments, enabling us to offer funds to a wider variety of businesses and much faster than traditional options.” For companies, this means access to capital they need to grow, and having it in their bank account often within 48 hours.