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Funding Societies secures third credit facility with HSBC to extend access to MSMEs in Southeast Asia

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Part of HSBC’s ASEAN Growth Fund, an accumulative commitment of over US$100 million to Funding Societies since its partnership established in 2022

SINGAPORE, Nov. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Funding Societies | Modalku (Funding Societies), the largest unified digital finance platform for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Southeast Asia today announced signing the third credit facility* with HSBC under its ASEAN Growth Fund. The overall transaction, an accumulative commitment of over US$100 million, also includes the two annual credit facilities extended to Funding Societies, reaffirms HSBC’s continued support for MSMEs through the platform since 2022.

This transaction, which is amongst HSBC’s largest asset-backed secured facilities extended to digital SME lenders in Southeast Asia, will further deepen and extend Funding Societies’ reach to providing credit access to underserved MSME segments in the region.

While the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region has grown its middle-class and gained tremendous traction in terms of increasing access to formal banking services and digitalising its commercial environment, the region still has a US$2.5 trillion credit access gap, making up over half of the global shortfall in small business financing[1]. To put into perspective, up to 99.9% of enterprises are MSMEs contributing to 35% to 69% of each country’s gross domestic product (GDP)[2].

Co-founder and Group CEO of Funding Societies, Kelvin Teo, said, “The continued support from a global bank such as HSBC is a testament to its commitment to support the development of digital platform businesses such as ours and MSMEs as we ride through a two-decade high interest rates impacting the global economy. This enables us to further explore scalable debt financing for growth and profitability, and bolster financial inclusion for the underbanked and underserved SMEs in the region.”

As part of its ASEAN Growth Fund strategy, this transaction underlines a scalable solution to allow and enable digital lenders like Funding Societies to raise additional equity capital and debt financing through different channels. Furthermore, HSBC will act as the structuring bank, lender, account bank, FX counterparty, facility and security agent in providing a scalable and pan-regional financing solution to support Funding Societies’ business expansion in the region.

Harish Venkatesan, Head of Corporates and Business Banking, HSBC Singapore, said, “As an early-starter and a leading MSME digital financing player in ASEAN, we are pleased to provide our third credit facility for Funding Societies, cumulatively in excess of US$100 million. This will enable us to continue supporting its efforts to provide financing support to micro, small and medium enterprises which will contribute to the building blocks of societies in the ASEAN region. We look forward to continuing support for Funding Societies as they grow their business and for the underlying MSMEs in the region through the HSBC ASEAN Growth Fund.”

The US$1 billion HSBC ASEAN Growth Fund was launched in March 2024 to enable Singapore-based digital platform businesses supporting e-commerce in the region to achieve economies of scale across multiple international markets, grow their asset portfolios, and advance along the corporate lifecycle. Together with the New Economy and Venture Debt Fund, HSBC Singapore offers a comprehensive suite of financing solutions for new economy businesses across different stages of growth[3].

This announcement comes at the heels of Funding Societies’ most recent strategic investments from Maybank in September.

Since its inception in 2015, Funding Societies has disbursed over US$4 billion in business financing, positively impacting more than 100,000 businesses across Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as processed an annualised US$1.4 billion in payments GTV (gross transaction value) since its entry into payments in late 2022.

About Funding Societies | Modalku

Funding Societies | Modalku is the largest unified SME digital finance platform in Southeast Asia. It is licensed in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, registered in Malaysia, and operates in Vietnam. The FinTech company provides US$1 billion annually of business financing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In recent years, it has made strategic milestones including its acquisition of regional digital payments platform CardUp and co-investment into Bank Index in Indonesia.

Funding Societies | Modalku is backed by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Maybank, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, CGC Digital (the digital arm of the Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Berhad), SBVA (previously SoftBank Ventures Asia), Peak XV Partners (previously Sequoia Capital India), Alpha JWC Ventures, SMBC Bank, BRI Ventures, VNG Corporation, Rapyd Ventures, Endeavor, EBDI, SGInnovative, Qualgro, and Golden Gate Ventures among others.

It has received accolades through the years including: Brands for Good (2019, 2023), Global SME Excellence Award, Global SME Finance Awards by IFC (2021-2023) Global Startup Awards (2020), MAS FinTech Award (2016, 2021), Singapore’s Fastest-Growing Companies 2024 (a list of 100 companies compiled by The Straits Times and Statista), High-Growth Companies in Asia-Pacific 2024 (a list of 500 companies compiled by the Financial Times and Statista) .

For more information, please visit: www.fundingsocieties.com

About The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited is the founding member of the HSBC Group. HSBC serves customers worldwide from offices in 60 countries and territories. With assets of US$2,975bn as of 30 June 2024, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations.

 

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SOURCE Funding Societies

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Vodafone Business IoT to Provide Global Connectivity for the Oracle Enterprise Communications Platform

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PARIS, Nov. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Oracle Communications Summit — Oracle is building on its partnership with Vodafone Business IoT to bring global IoT connectivity to Oracle’s Enterprise Communications Platform (ECP) industry applications customers. Built on the high performance and security of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, ECP uses edge architecture to give businesses the out-of-the-box connectivity and near real-time data intelligence required to power essential new services.

The platform, which uses Vodafone’s Global SIM for cellular connectivity, underpins Oracle’s extensive portfolio of industry applications giving industries the ability to orchestrate, connect, and manage IoT devices and a new generation of cloud-based services. The combination of Oracle’s ECP with Vodafone Business IoT’s connectivity enables new capabilities such as embedded AI, secure device lifecycle management, connection management and advanced media routing and conferencing.

By integrating Vodafone’s innovative Global SIM with Oracle’s Enterprise Communications Platform, Oracle industry applications customers will benefit from near real-time communications capabilities with a secure and reliable connectivity service. Furthermore, with access to Vodafone’s expansive IoT network of over 180 countries, businesses will have connectivity compliant with local regulatory requirements – meaning that they will be able to operate globally and grow more efficiently.

Erik Brenneis, CEO Vodafone Business IoT, said, “We’re excited to announce the next step in our partnership with Oracle – providing reliable and secure connectivity to its Enterprise Communications Platform customers. This collaboration will help customers to expand their operations and accelerate on a global scale with compliant connectivity in over 180 countries worldwide. We look forward to our ongoing partnership with Oracle, where we can connect more customers in more countries.”

As the next wave of industrial transformation unfolds, near real-time connectivity is essential and is becoming increasingly adopted in various industries such as healthcare, construction and engineering, energy and water, hospitality, and the public sector.

“Connectivity is the heart of industry transformation,” said Andrew Morawski, executive vice president and general manager, Oracle Communications. “Using drones to inspect construction jobsites, remote monitoring the health of a patient, paying the bill tableside at a restaurant – none of these scenarios are possible without wireless connectivity and industry-specific applications working in harmony. By expanding our long partnership with Vodafone and bringing its extensive global network reach and IoT expertise together with Oracle’s, wide-ranging portfolio of industry suites, we can help create new ways to delight customers and deliver new revenue streams.”

Learn more about ECP here and the broader Oracle Communications portfolio by visiting: https://www.oracle.com/communications or LinkedIn. Click here to find out more about Vodafone’s Global SIM+.

About Vodafone Group

Vodafone is a leading European and African telecoms company. We provide mobile and fixed services to over 330 million customers in 15 countries (excludes Italy which is held as a discontinued operation under Vodafone Group), partner with mobile networks in 45 more and have one of the world’s largest IoT platforms. In Africa, our financial technology businesses serve almost 79 million customers across seven countries – managing more transactions than any other provider.

Our purpose is to connect for a better future by using technology to improve lives, businesses and help progress inclusive sustainable societies. We are committed to reducing our environmental impact to reach net zero emissions by 2040.

For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com, follow us on X at @VodafoneGroup or connect with us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/vodafone.

About Oracle Communications

Oracle Communications provides integrated communications and cloud solutions for Service Providers and Enterprises to accelerate their digital transformation journey in a communications-driven world from network evolution to digital business to customer experience. www.oracle.com/communications.

About Oracle

Oracle offers integrated suites of applications plus secure, autonomous infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), please visit us at oracle.com.

Trademarks

Oracle, Java, MySQL and NetSuite are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation. NetSuite was the first cloud company—ushering in the new era of cloud computing.

 

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SOURCE Oracle

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IDnow Trust Services AB certified as a Qualified Trust Service Provider in the European Union

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IDnow partners with IDnow Trust Services AB to provide qualified electronic signatures, time stamps and seals to its customers and beyond

MUNICH, Nov. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — IDnow, a leading identity verification platform provider in Europe, announces its partnership with newly founded IDnow Trust Services AB, a certified Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP) under EU Regulation 910/2014 (eIDAS).1 Founded as a joint venture in Stockholm in early 2024 between IDnow and ESYSCO, a system integrator and technology provider, the company offers qualified trust services, such as electronic signatures, time stamps, and seals, that combine security, compliance, and user convenience.

Innovation and leadership in the digital signature market

As a recognized QTSP in the EU by the Swedish supervisory body Post-och telestyrelsen (PTS), IDnow Trust Services AB will issue, validate, and manage electronic certificates and time stamps; capture additional information, such as qualified time; hold identification evidence data, and perform certificate revocation, while complying as a Certificate Authority (CA). The QTSP provides assurance of the existence of specific electronic data at a specific time, such as proof that documents have been submitted for processing.

One of the features that IDnow Trust Services AB will immediately enable for IDnow’s customers is SMS-free signing. This certified capability simplifies the signing process, eliminating the requirement of One-Time Password (OTP) codes and driving higher conversion rates. IDnow Trust Services AB is the first QTSP that will allow this new user authentication process, which is already acknowledged by different CEN and ETSI standards and which will revolutionize the user experience in the digital signature market.  

New joint venture secures trust and simplifies compliance

“We are incredibly pleased that our joint venture, IDnow Trust Services AB, is already bearing the fruits of our labor. At IDnow, we have long made it our mission to actively shape and lead the Know Your Customer and digital identity industry; we are now once again showing this leadership role by doubling down on trust services, as they are an essential part of the transformation of the digital identity market heralded by eIDAS 2.0,” says Andreas Bodczek, CEO of IDnow.

He continues: “In the coming years, our customers will benefit from the synergy of identity verification and qualified trust services, ensuring a compliant and efficient experience for all business-critical operations across the EU. This collaboration sets a new standard for trust and operational efficiency, positioning businesses for long-term success in the fast-evolving digital landscape.”

Johannes Leser, CEO of IDnow Trust Services AB, adds: “Trust and liability is the backbone of all business, and it will be the driving force behind the global digital economy. IDnow Trust Services AB is committed to delivering innovative and highly dependable solutions to IDnow, its customers, and partners. With trust as our mutual foundation, we’re poised to revolutionize the European digital signature market, which is expected to be seven times larger by 2030 than it is today.” 

About IDnow

IDnow is a leading identity verification platform provider in Europe with a vision to make the connected world a safer place. The IDnow platform provides a broad portfolio of identity verification solutions, ranging from automated to human-assisted from purely online to point-of-sale, each of them optimized for user conversion rates and security.

In 2021, IDnow acquired the French market leader for identity technology, ARIADNEXT, and the German identity Trust Management AG, enabling IDnow to offer its customers one of the broadest identification solutions through a single, integrated platform.

The company has offices in Germany, United Kingdom, and France and is backed by renowned institutional investors, including Corsair Capital and Seventure Partners. Its portfolio of over 900 international clients spans a wide range of industries, and includes leading international players, such as UniCredit, Telefonica, Sixt, Crédit Agricole Personal Finance and Mobility, BNP Paribas Personal Finance, and Munich Re, as well as digital champions like N26, Solarisbank, Younited, BoursoBank, and Klarna.

Press contact IDnow

Katherina Riesner
press@idnow.io
+49 89 41324 6030

About IDnow Trust Services AB

IDnow Trust Services AB is a joint venture between IDnow GmbH and ESYSCO Sp. z o.o. The company is a certified Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP) under EU Regulation 910/2014 (eIDAS), compliant with the creation and validation of electronic signatures, electronic time stamps, electronic seals, and certificates related to these services.

As an eIDAS-certified QTSP, IDnow Trust Services AB leads the way in compliance. It provides omnichannel trust services, including Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES), helps customers conduct cross-border business within the EU, and assists companies in the transition to fully digital processes.

1 The electronic Identification and Signature (eIDAS) regulation defines a QTSP as a natural or a legal person who provides one or more qualified trust services.

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SOURCE IDnow

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Zoomcar Doubles Customer Support Team To Enhance Guest and Host Experience

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BANGALORE, India, Nov. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Zoomcar Holdings, Inc. (“Zoomcar” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: ZCAR), the Nasdaq-listed leading marketplace for self-drive car sharing, announced a major expansion in its customer support efforts, doubling its customer support team to ensure faster, more efficient assistance for both Hosts and Guests on its platform. This expansion marks a significant step in addressing customer feedback and improving overall service quality.

In a key initiative, Zoomcar has also launched a dedicated team called Host Success Team, to assist new Hosts in onboarding their vehicles and optimising earnings. This specialised team guides Hosts through every stage of their journey on the platform, providing continuous support to help them thrive.

In addition to expanding the team, Zoomcar has moved to a multi-channel support model. This now includes inbound and outbound calls, chatbot based ticketing support and a Generative AI (Gen AI) Assistant that offers 24×7 assistance. This enhanced customer support framework has already led to an 50% reduction in in-app escalations, with continued improvements expected as the new measures take full effect.

Hiroshi Nishijima, CEO of Zoomcar said, “We’ve achieved significant profitability improvement in the past few months and have reinvested in customer support expansion to continue our commitment of making Zoomcar a frictionless experience.”

About Zoomcar

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Bengaluru, India, Zoomcar is a leading marketplace for car sharing focused in India. The Zoomcar community connects Hosts with Guests, who choose from a selection of cars for use at affordable prices, promoting sustainable, smart transportation solutions in India.

Forward-Looking Statement:

This press release may contain forward-looking statements about our plans, efforts, goals, assumptions, commitments, expectations, or prospects inter alia related to our management’s initiatives to enhance Host and Guest experience through expansion of such support teams. These forward-looking statements reflect our management’s current expectations for these new business initiatives and these statements entail significant risk and uncertainty. To identify these forward-looking statements, we use terms such as “may,” “will,” “aim,” “extend,” “increase,” “estimate,” “intend,” “indicate,” “continue,” “expand,” “enhance,” “believe,” “elevate”, “build,”, “ensure”, “expect” or the negatives thereof, as well as other variations or comparable terminology. We ask that you read statements that contain these terms carefully because we believe this information is important for our investors and customers. Any forward-looking statement in this press release refers solely to what is accurate as of the day it is issued or based on assumptions that Zoomcar believes to be reasonable. The actual results and outcomes may materially differ due to various factors or events beyond our control which may not be foreseeable at all times. We cannot guarantee or assure any plan, initiative, projection, goal, assumption, commitment, expectation, or prospect set forth in this press release can or will be achieved. We undertake no obligation to alter or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, save and except as required by law.

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SOURCE Zoomcar Holdings, Inc.

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