Finology gets funding from Silverlake Group, The Hive Southeast Asia, and MTDC to enable financial inclusion

• Finology: Despite the availability of technology and financial resources, a significant gap remains between financial services and end consumers. A study by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company revealed that over 70% of the world's adult population remains unbanked or underbanked, with limited access to financial services.

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 27): Finology Group has successful closed of a pre-Series A funding round of an undisclosed amount.

A media release by the fintech company stated that the round was led by Silverlake Group and “featured participation” from The Hive Southeast Asia, a recipient of the Dana Penjana Nasional programme under the purview of Penjana Kapital (a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ministry of Finance) and Malaysian Technology Development Corp (MTDC).

“Despite the availability of technology and financial resources, a significant gap remains between financial services and end consumers. A study by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company revealed that over 70% of the world's adult population remains unbanked or underbanked, with limited access to financial services,” stated Finology.

Finology aims to increase access to financial products and services by integrating them into non-traditional platforms through embedded finance. The company plans to bring its solutions to financial institutions and consumer-facing brands in the APAC market to increase financial inclusion and support the underbanked, addressing barriers such as lack of credit history and difficulty in accessing conventional banking products.

"Our mission is to bring financial inclusion to the APAC region through embedded finance. We are grateful for our partners' trust and support as we work to improve our technology and make financial products accessible and seamless for everyone everywhere,” said group CEO and co-founder of Finology, Robin Ang.

“For example, embedded finance can be a valuable solution for first-time home buyers, like the ones who found their perfect property but struggle to secure favourable loan rates due to lack of credit visibility. The lack of visibility can also cause issues for property developers and agencies, as it can lead to cancellation of property bookings”, Ang shared.

“By providing loan pre-approval, embedded in the home buying process, the visibility to both buyer and seller on the loan eligibility at an early stage can save time for both parties. It can also be a valuable tool to advise buyers on their property purchase options that they are eligible for while enabling financial inclusion,” he added.

Read also:
EdgeProp launches LoanReport, Malaysia’s first loan eligibility tool

Early last year, EdgeProp.my partnered with Finology to launch LoanReport, a first of its kind tool that assists homebuyers in understanding their borrowing ability better and to assist in getting a pre-approved mortgage loan with banks.

LoanReport also provides the indicative market price of a property together with a credit report from CCRIS and CTOS. This gives a realistic overview of the user’s eligibility in getting a loan.

Revolutionising the lending and insurance landscape

The media release by Finology also stated that embedded finance represents a paradigm shift in the way financial products are made available to consumers.

“The company has recognised the potential of this solution to revolutionise the lending and insurance landscape and has therefore expanded its offerings to include a wide range of products such as mortgages, personal loans, hire purchases, and insurance.

As one of the leading players in the fintech space, Finology believes that embedded finance holds the key to accelerating financial inclusion and is committed to leveraging this technology to drive innovation and growth in the market,” it added.

Founder & group executive chairman of Silverlake Group, Goh Peng Ooi said: "In Silverlake, we make every effort to bring new financial ecosystem propositions, from user-centric applications to AI-driven solutions, to our customers. We pride ourselves in being at the forefront of providing innovative solutions and are pleased to announce our collaboration with Finology, and view this as another opportunity to deliver exciting products to financial services institutions.”

“We recognise the potential for long-term growth that Finology offers, and we are impressed by their technology, execution capabilities, and market potential. We are excited to explore existing synergies with our portfolio and collaborate with the team as they continue to expand and develop,” said Datuk Syed Haizam Jamalullail, managing director of The Hive Southeast Asia.

Empowering individuals to enhance their financial wellbeing

"We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Finology and are thrilled to witness The Hive Southeast Asia's dedication to fostering financial inclusion through their investment in Finology. Finology makes financial products widely and easily accessible, opening financial services to more people than ever,” said Taufiq Iskandar, CEO of Penjana Kapital.

“Having invested and being a believer in the company’s growth potential in the past 6 years, Finology separates itself from other fintech through its unique distribution and underwriting technologies. We’re very excited to be furthering our investment and look forward to supporting further product developments and regional growth,” said Ts Hj Mohammad Hazani Hj Hassan, chief executive officer of MTDC.

Moving forward, Finology will continue to invest in enhancing its end-to-end lending and insurance suites of API-driven solutions through strategic collaborations, organic growth and regional expansion to ensure individuals and businesses have access to financial services – loans, credit and insurance — empowering individuals to enhance their financial wellbeing and for businesses to participate in the economic activity.