In Southeast Asia, small to medium enterprises (SMEs) represent about 40%1 of the region’s gross domestic product. And you might think, given their role in driving the economy, that SMEs wouldn’t have trouble securing financing. Instead, the 39 million2 SMEs in Southeast Asia find themselves in difficult spot: financial institutions can have a difficult time evaluating a business that lacks a lengthy track record. But what institutions overlooked, Finaxar saw as an untapped opportunity.
They could solve a problem that had plagued SMEs for decades. By combining innovative technology—and deep expertise in understanding how SMEs function—they could deliver access to working capital quickly by using an online platform.