Validus
“Can a Southeast Asia SME lender become the embedded credit infrastructure layer powering financing inside the region's supply chains and digital platforms?”
Founded2015
HQSingapore
Latest roundSeries C1 (2022)
IndustryFintech / Lending
The story
Founded 2015 as a P2P SME financing marketplace in Singapore, Validus expanded across Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand) and pivoted into a multi-market digital lending platform funded primarily by institutional debt facilities (HSBC, Citi, FMO, Oikocredit) rather than retail P2P investors. The 2021 Kleacard acquisition signaled a move toward embedded finance and SME payments, and the 2025 Embedded Finance Fund with Fintech Nation marks an explicit push to scale embedded credit products into partner ecosystems across the region.
Last 12 months
Product timeline
2015
Founded in Singapore to address SME financing gap· founding
2017
Partnered with Visa to develop a virtual card-based SME financing solution· card
2019
Expanded to Indonesia via Batumbu (OJK registration) and Vietnam· expansion
2020
Expanded to Thailand (Siam Validus, Bangkok)· expansion
2021
Acquired Kleacard, a business payments and expense management platform· acquisition
2022
Acquired Citibusiness small business banking loan portfolio in Singapore; formed JV with TTC Group and Do Ventures in Vietnam· acquisition
2024
Secured up to US$50M facility from HSBC for MSME lending in Indonesia· lending
2025
Launched US$10M Embedded Finance Fund with Fintech Nation for SMEs in Thailand and Indonesia· lending
Regulated entities
P2P lending / SME financing license
Indonesia (OJK) · 2019
Batumbu
The stack
Lending
Validus (in-house)SME working capital loansInvoice financing (Batumbu, Indonesia)Working Capital for Vendors / Suppliers (Vietnam, up to VND 2.5B)Corporate vendor financing programs (e.g. ST Engineering)Dealer financing (Siam Validus, Thailand)eBIZ digital unsecured loan (Vietnam)Embedded Finance Fund (US$10M, with Fintech Nation, Thailand & Indonesia)
Accounting gap: none