Crowdfunding platform FundTier gets MAS licence, eyes investors

This article is more than 12 months old

Dec 29, 2017 06:00 am

Local start-up FundTier is the latest crowdfunding platform to obtain a Capital Market Services (CMS) licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the firm said yesterday.

It aims to provide an alternative source of funding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore, which may have difficulties meeting the banks' requirements for their financing needs.

With the licence, FundTier will be able to reach out to investors who typically deal with traditional banking products such as unit trusts and forex, but may not have access to SME loans even if they feel SME business models are viable, its co-founder Max Ho said.

Co-founder Shaun Lee added: "We are aware of the limitations SMEs may face when they try to get a bank loan. The purpose of FundTier is to address the funding gap for some of these underserved SMEs which have promising business growth plans but could not get the necessary funding from conventional financiers.

"At the same time, we have an existing pool of investors who are looking for unconventional investment tools. Many of them are drawn to funding SMEs due to its fast turnaround and reasonable rate of returns."

FundTier was founded in August 2015 by five people formerly in the banking industry, and is slated to launch next Friday. - THE STRAITS TIMES