Acudeen earmarks P5 B for SME financing in 2019

Singapore-based Filipino startup Acudeen Technologies Pte Ltd. has earmarked more than P5 billion next year to provide the financing needs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Acudeen founder and CEO Magellan Fetalino said the company has now financed more than P500 million worth of invoices for 1,000 SMEs in the Philippines this year.

Fetalino said Acudeen continues to grow since its inception in 2016, making financing accessible to SMEs in the Philippines through the use of technology.

SMEs comprise 99.6 percent of all registered business in the Philippines and employ 70 percent of the workforce.

However, more than 80 percent of SMEs in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, lack access to credit that is needed in order to grow or sustain their businesses.

With the use of Acudeen’s online marketplace for receivables financing, business owners can now experience swift, secure and seamless financing all at the comfort of their home.

“SMEs anywhere in the world always have the biggest contribution to a country’s GDP, and yet this is the segment that is least supported by our financial institutions,” Fetalino said.

Acudeen continues to gain global recognition as Factors Chain International welcomed Acudeen as its first ever member in the Philippines during the Southeast Asia Factoring and Receivables Finance Conference.

The ceremony held by the international representing body for factoring and supply chain financing with over 400 member companies in 90 countries was attended by 100 participants from banks, government, other financial institutions, and exporters from Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, India and the Philippines.

The Personal Property Security Act (Republic Act 11057), passed just this year, covers accounts receivables as means for lending will be a boon to factoring as it gives great certainty to assignment of receivables and established the right of assignment.

This is the first law of its kind in Philippines to help SMEs gain access to financing and will be a good example for other Asian countries to follow, Fetalino added.