11 fintech startups from Singapore have been acknowledged within the inaugural NextGen Tech 30, a prestigious award celebrating Southeast Asia’s most promising high-growth know-how firms.
NextGen Tech 30 is alleged to be the primary public-private initiative within the Affiliation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) devoted to figuring out and supporting the highest 30 up-and-coming growth-stage firms which might be driving innovation and financial transformation throughout the area.
This 12 months’s cohort was introduced on September 24, at Singapore’s SGX Middle by visitor of honor, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, Heng Swee Keat. The chosen firms, which characterize dynamic sectors like fintech, logistics, and agritech, hail from nations together with Singapore, Indonesia, and China.
A key spotlight of this 12 months’s group is its exceptional common development price of over 40%, underscoring their fast growth and world influence.
Furthermore, half of the winners generate income exterior of ASEAN, demonstrating their competitiveness on the worldwide stage. As well as, almost 20% of the acknowledged firms are pioneering options in sustainability, clear power, and environmental influence, positioning them as leaders in sustainability innovation.
The 2024 winners have been chosen by a panel of key business gamers representing organizations corresponding to KKR, Granite Asia (previously GGV Capital), Singapore’s InfoComm Media Improvement Authority (IMDA), Singapore Enterprise Federation, Singapore-based world investor EDBI, SGX Group, DBS Financial institution, Northstar Group, and 65 Fairness Companions.
These firms have been assessed primarily based on a number of standards, together with their capability to make use of synthetic intelligence (AI) or digitalization to resolve issues extra effectively and successfully.
They needed to generate at the least US$20 million in income or obtain year-on-year income development of at the least 30%. Additionally they needed to a transparent atmosphere, social and governance (ESG) technique and display long-term worth creation. Lastly, these firms needed to be headquartered in ASEAN or be working primarily throughout the area.
At this time, we take a look at the fintech startups from Singapore that made it into the 2024 NextGen Tech 30, highlighting their worth propositions and up to date achievements.
Aspire
Aspire is the all-in-one finance platform for contemporary companies globally, serving to over 50,000 firms save money and time with worldwide funds, expense administration, payable administration, and receivable administration options. The startup serves notable firms together with Air Asia, Carousell, Love Bonito, Endowus, and Tech In Asia.
Headquartered in Singapore, Aspire employs over 600 folks throughout 9 nations and is backed by world high tier enterprise capital (VC) companies, together with Peak XV Companions, Lightspeed, Y-Combinator, Tencent and Paypal. In 2023, the corporate closed an oversubscribed US$100 million Collection C spherical and introduced that it had achieved profitability.
In Could 2024, Aspire launched in Hong Kong, providing a set of economic options to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), together with the power to open native enterprise accounts for payables and receivables administration, worldwide funds, in addition to cost gateway resolution.
Aspire has additionally been named amongst Singapore’s high ten startups in 2024 by LinkedIn. LinkedIn’s annual Prime Startups record highlights the ten fastest-growing and most modern firms in Singapore. The record is predicated on LinkedIn knowledge throughout worker development, jobseeker curiosity, engagement, and attraction of high expertise.
Endowus
Based in 2017, Endowus is a number one unbiased digital wealth platform in Asia, licensed by the Securities and Futures Fee of Hong Kong and the Financial Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Endowus is the primary digital advisor within the area to span private financial savings, non-public wealth and public pension, serving to buyers develop their wealth holistically, with conflict-free recommendation and entry to institutional monetary options at low and truthful charges via a customized digital wealth expertise. It companions with over 80 world fund managers to offer a variety of funding choices throughout private and non-private markets, hedge funds, and alternate options.
With group belongings of over US$6 billion, Endowus claims it is without doubt one of the largest unbiased wealth managers in Asia and says it has created greater than US$40 million in financial savings for its purchasers. The startup has attained quite a few awards together with Singapore’s Greatest Digital Wealth Administration (Asia Asset Administration’s Better of the Greatest Awards 2024), Singapore’s Greatest Digital Wealth Administration Expertise (The Asset Triple A Digital Awards 2023), and Greatest WealthTech Resolution 2023 (Asian Personal Banker ninth Expertise Awards).
Like Aspire, Endowus has additionally been named amongst this 12 months’s high ten startups in Singapore by LinkedIn.
YouTrip
Launched in 2018, YouTrip is a cellular monetary platform primarily based in Singapore that provides a multi-currency cellular pockets and a contactless Mastercard to make funds in over 150 currencies. The platform is designed for vacationers and tech-savvy shoppers alike.
YouTrip was created with the imaginative and prescient to offer a wiser and extra handy strategy to deal with overseas foreign money transactions. At this time, the platform is a trusted companion for a lot of, claiming to ship the very best overseas trade (FX) charges with zero transaction charges. It permits customers to carry out in-app exchanges at any time and spend in any foreign money, and ensures that FX charges are up to date in real-time and displayed transparently on the YouTrip app, with no hidden markups.
YouTrip has skilled vital development in Singapore and Thailand, with its consumer base tripling between 2021 and 2023. Moreover, its company card and spend administration platform, YouBiz, has achieved notable milestones, onboarding over 3,000 enterprises in its first 12 months in operation.
Like Aspire and Endowus, YouTrip has been named amongst this 12 months’s high ten startups in Singapore by LinkedIn.
Syfe
Syfe is a digital funding platform licensed by the MAS. Launched in July 2019, Syfe’s mission is to remodel the way in which folks handle their cash and make prime quality monetary providers inexpensive and accessible to all.
Syfe Portfolios provides personalised and customized portfolios, enabling customers to meet their long-term monetary targets. The platform has no minimal funding quantities and maintains a low annual charge, beginning at 0.35% each year of the full quantity invested.
Brokerage, the primary neobroker in Singapore, permits customers to develop their cash by shopping for and promoting US and Singapore-listed securities. Buyers can simply purchase into the world’s largest firms beginning with as little as one greenback, have entry to free trades, a simplified consumer expertise, and get real-time market knowledge and evaluation.
Syfe at present serves over 100,000 clients in Singapore and is now seeking to develop to different Asia-Pacific (APAC) markets, together with Hong Kong and Australia.
Like Aspire, Endowus and YouTrip, Syfe has been named amongst this 12 months’s high ten startups in Singapore by LinkedIn.
Advance Intelligence Group
Based in 2016, Advance Intelligence Group is one of many largest unbiased tech startups headquartered in Singapore. The corporate leverages modern know-how and partnerships to construct an ecosystem of services and products serving shoppers, enterprises and retailers.
Advance Intelligence Group’s enterprise manufacturers, Advance.ai and Ginee, present enterprise digital identification, compliance and danger administration options and omni-channel service provider providers options to banks, monetary providers, fintech, retail and e-commerce industries. Its shopper manufacturers, Atome Monetary and Kredit Pintar, supplies purchase now, pay later and digital lending merchandise in each developed and rising markets.
Advance Intelligence Group claims it serves over 500 enterprise purchasers, 235,000 retailers and 40 million particular person shoppers, and says it has disbursed over US$4 billion in loans since its inception. The corporate, which is headquartered in Singapore and operates throughout Asia, is backed by high tier buyers together with the SoftBank Imaginative and prescient Fund 2, Imaginative and prescient Plus Capital, Gaorong Capital and Singapore-based world investor EDBI.
Bolttech
Based in 2020, Bolttech is without doubt one of the world’s main embedded insurance coverage suppliers. The business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) insurtech connects tailor-made and inexpensive insurance coverage merchandise to shoppers by way of accomplice platforms in additional than 30 markets throughout three continents. It serves a variety of consumers, together with greater than two million rising shoppers, particularly with its machine safety choices.
Bolttech has licenses to function all through Asia, Europe and all 50 US states, and claims it quotes roughly US$50 billion value of annualized premiums. Globally, Bolttech’s ecosystem includes greater than 600 distribution companions with over 230 insurance coverage suppliers, and provides in extra of 6,000 product variations.
Bolttech’s mission is to construct the world’s main, technology-enabled ecosystem for cover and insurance coverage.
Coda Funds
Based in 2011, Coda Funds specializes in content material monetization options for gaming and digital content material publishers.
The corporate’s merchandise embody Codapay, a cost platform which permits sport publishers to simply accept a wide range of cost strategies on their very own web sites; Codashop, an in-game foreign money and content material platform; xShop, which extends publishers’ attain by making their content material out there on a variety of super-apps, e-commerce websites and different consumer-facing platforms; and Customized Commerce, an internet retailer system that permits firms and creators to promote and course of funds instantly with shoppers.
Coda Funds is trusted by over 300 publishers, together with business giants Activision Blizzard, Bigo, Digital Arts, Riot Video games, and Zynga, connecting them to over 10 million paying clients. The startup operates in over 60 markets, together with Southeast Asia, China, Latin America and the US.
Headquartered in Singapore and backed by Smash Capital, Perception Companions, GIC, Apis Companions, and GMO International Cost Fund, Coda Funds has been named one of many fastest-growing firms in APAC by the Monetary Instances, a Expertise Pioneer by the World Financial Discussion board and the Greatest Cost Options Supplier for the Gaming Trade (International) by International Model Journal.
Funding Societies
Established in 2015, Funding Societies is a regional fintech firm that focuses on offering financing to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The corporate supplies companies with entry to funding via a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending mannequin. By connecting companies searching for financing with particular person and institutional buyers, Funding Societies provides short-term, collateral-free loans, serving to to bridge the SME financing hole in Southeast Asia.
Since its inception in 2015, Funding Societies says it has disbursed over S$5 billion (US$3.9 billion) in enterprise financing via 5 million transactions, positively impacting over 100,000 SMEs throughout its 5 markets, particularly Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Lately, the corporate has additionally made strategic milestones together with its acquisition of regional digital funds platform CardUp and co-investment into Financial institution Index in Indonesia.
Funding Societies is backed by high VC companies together with Peak XV Companions, Alpha JWC Ventures, SMBC Financial institution, BRI Ventures, VNG Company, Rapyd Ventures, Endeavor, EBDI, SGInnovate, Qualgro, and Golden Gate Ventures.
ShopBack Group
The ShopBack Group is a number one buying, rewards, and funds platform in APAC, serving over 40 million consumers throughout 11 markets. In 2023, the Group expanded its choices into Germany, signaling its entry into the European market.
Pushed by the imaginative and prescient to be the world’s most rewarding strategy to store, ShopBack is devoted to saving members time and cash, whereas delivering pleasant experiences with each buy. The platform additionally allows retailers and types to have interaction with their members in an economical method.
Based in 2014, ShopBack claims it now powers over US$4 billion in annual gross sales for over 20,000 on-line and in-store companions. The startup claims it facilitates upwards of half 1,000,000 transactions every day, offering worth to each members and retailers via its modern choices. Notably, its cost resolution, ShopBack Pay, provides members a handy and rewarding cost possibility at checkout.
Modern
Modern is a complete digital platform designed to simplify enterprise administration for SMEs. Launched in 2017 and working in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, and the UK, Modern provides a one-stop resolution for firm incorporation, governance, accounting, payroll, and tax compliance, all managed on-line.
By way of Modern, companies can incorporate an organization completely remotely, handle governance duties corresponding to firm secretary filings 24/7, open enterprise accounts, and signal paperwork digitally utilizing Modern’s eSignature instrument, SleekSign. The platform goals to eradicate the complexities and inefficiencies of conventional administrative processes, permitting companies to handle their compliance with Singapore’s ACRA and IRAS necessities, amongst others, extra effectively.
Modern says it has served over 450,000 purchasers throughout 110 nations, and processed thousands and thousands of bookkeeping transactions digitally. The startup reached profitability this month.
Thunes
Thunes is a worldwide cost community that permits seamless, real-time cash transfers throughout greater than 130 nations and over 80 currencies.
Thunes’ proprietary Direct International Community connects companies on to over 7 billion cellular wallets and financial institution accounts worldwide by way of greater than 350 completely different cost strategies, corresponding to GCash, M-Pesa, Airtel, MTN, Orange, JazzCash, Easypaisa, AliPay and WeChat Pay. It serves main firms like Uber, Deliveroo, Seize, Sephora, Adidas and Meta, in addition to banks and fintech startups, providing a quick, environment friendly, and safe strategy to transfer cash globally.
Headquartered in Singapore, Thunes has places of work in 14 areas, together with Barcelona, Beijing, Dubai, London, Manila, Nairobi, Paris, San Francisco and Sao Paulo. In August 2024, the corporate reached a big milestone, surpassing US$100 million in run-rate income. It additionally introduced its entry into the US market via its acquisition of Tilia and is at present taking part within the eCNY mission in partnership with the Digital Forex Institute of the Individuals’s Financial institution of China.
Featured picture credit score: edited from freepik
