The AMTD Singapore Solidarity Fund has completed the first five FinTech investments of its new S$50m ($36.7m) fund.
These capital deployments, which total S$11.5m ($8.4m) were made through a variety of investment structures including equities, convertible notes, venture debts, warrants and options.
The five companies to make the inaugural batch were SME digital financing platform Funding Societies, AI-powered process automation solution Active.ai, credit card enablement service Cardup, cross-border payments platform Transwap and InsurTech startup PolicyPal.
Funding Societies is a peer-to-peer lending service which helps connect SMEs with retail and institutional investors. A business applies for a business loan of up to SGD $2m ($1.4m) on tenor of 12 months, and the FinTech will open up the loan to investors on the platform which can make contributions from as little as SGD $20 ($14).
The company closed a $40m Series C in April, despite the coronavirus forcing it to downsize.
Active.AI is an AI-powered communication platform that enables financial institutions to connect with customers. Its services include pre-built workflows, pre-trained datasets, and pre-certified integration with Finastra for balance queries and fund transfers.
Cardup offers an online card payments platform supporting consumer cash management by supporting the transformation of bank transfers to a credit card. The platform also enables consumers to earn benefits like extended credit terms and reward points for rent, taxes, insurance premiums and tuition fees.
Transwap provides cross-border payments services that lets users manage and execute payments around the world, while reducing foreign exchange costs. It currently supports more than 180 countries.
Finally, PolicyPal helps consumers to find the right insurance policy for their needs, enabling them to compare cover from a variety of providers, as well as get access to exclusive rebates on insurance premiums.
The investment vehicle from AMTD is aimed at supporting the FinTech space in Singapore.
AMTD Group chairman and CEO Calvin Choi said, “AMTD is proud to support the FinTech community in Singapore, witnessing the resilience and embracing opportunities in its FinTech and innovation sectors.
“The Solidarity Fund is a centre of care, centre of support, and an anchor point. We welcome more innovative companies to join APIX and more entrepreneurs to join our ecosystem, together we deliver the best-in-class digital experience to customers from locally to globally.”
Last year, Singapore witnessed a total of $2.1bn invested into its FinTech sector. FinTech Global’s data suggests the country has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic, due to H1 2020 only seeing $351m deployed to FinTech companies.
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