It can be tricky for small businesses and startups to borrow from banks to fund their operation and expansion, as banks typically the only loan to companies with adequate collateral and an established business history. This is where FundPark comes in.
FundPark has launched a marketplace for businesses and funders to partner with. Through FundPark’s innovative platform, business owners can now easily and efficiently source institutional and professional investors for funding via purchase order financing or account receivables financing.
Purchase order financing is an option for businesses that need cash to fill customer orders. This solves the cash flow issue for businesses because in some cases, there is not enough cash to cover the cost of doing business. Account receivables financing is where businesses use their receivables - money owed to them by customers - as collateral in a financing agreement.
FundPark takes these two pillars of traditional trade financing online and links up small businesses with funders keen to make a good return.
“FundPark is a peer-to-business trade finance platform for small companies and traders, and we make financing easier for them. So FundPark is essentially a match-making platform between SMEs and also funders,” said FundPark founder Anson Suen.
Anson, who studied quantitative finance at University, worked in the trade finance department of an international commercial bank. There, he saw how banks were reluctant to conduct the rigorous but required due diligence needed to lend to small businesses.
“I saw the appetite to lend to small businesses shrink and shrink, and I saw a business opportunity. Hong Kong is a big market for SME trade finance. We hope to get a larger market share locally, and we are eyeing the whole Asia market,” said Anson.
FundPark has already set up an office in Taiwan and plans to expand into Singapore in order to reach out other Southeast Asian markets. In the end, FundPark hopes to garner enough clients in order to become a data bank and gain insight into the supply chain.
“With this data, we are able to conduct our own risk modeling and enhance our risk procedures. By doing this, SMEs will be able to enjoy a more efficient way of looking for financing instead of going the traditional banking route,” Anson said.
Anson said his team, comprising of individuals with technical, credit and business development backgrounds, will focus on staying nimble and adapting to market trends.
“We have a good team with a strong mix of skills. When FundPark focuses on something, we move together quickly with technology to achieve our goal. This is how we win our users over,” Anson said.
FundPark has launched a marketplace for businesses and funders to partner with. Through FundPark’s innovative platform, business owners can now easily and efficiently source institutional and professional investors for funding via purchase order financing or account receivables financing.
Anson, who studied quantitative finance at University, worked in the trade finance department of an international commercial bank. There, he saw how banks were reluctant to conduct the rigorous but required due diligence needed to lend to small businesses.
