Singapore-headquartered fintech banco raises $6.7 million in Series A round

With this fundraising, banco will look towards recruiting talent with technology and business development expertise, as well as market expansion in the Southeast Asia region.

Banco (RABC Group) was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Singapore with subsidiaries in China and Japan. The Banco platform leverages the digital capabilities of the RABC Group’s expertise in micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) lending and close industry partnerships, to develop sector-focused and sustainable financial solutions for MSMEs.

“We are pleased to lead banco’s Series-A fundraising together with our strategic partners, SMBC and R3. It will be a collaboration between SBI, SMBC, R3 and banco, to provide more inclusive financing solutions and achieve ESG goals for SMEs in Asia. We believe that banko will grow to become a leader in its sector.” says Yoshitaka Kitao, CEO, SBI Holdings.

SBI Group, founded in 1999, has achieved significant growth by offering varieties of financial services beneficial to consumers by riding the two main trends of “financial deregulation” and the “internet revolution.”

In Japan, SBI Group has fully utilized the Internet as its main channel and succeeded in creating a financial ecosystem in the Financial Services Business focusing on securities, banking and insurance, to become a unique comprehensive financial group that could not be seen anywhere else in Japan. world. SBI Group has also concentrated on both domestic and foreign investments in next-generation growth industries, while investing aggressively in developing countries in Asia, as well as taking part in incubating new start-ups.

“With this new round of fundraising, we look to the future where the group can use our existing fintech capabilities to build better sustainable financial infrastructure for MSMEs in Asia, and to expand regionally. We are excited yet humbled by the trust and support of our customers, partners and investors as we develop new capabilities and unlock new opportunities in this time of economic transformation.” says Lincoln Yin, co-founder and CEO, banco (RABC Group).

Going forward, the group will focus on offering green financing solutions for MSMEs and companies to optimize cash flow and improve sustainability throughout the value chain.

banco has also recently partnered with leading real estate advisor, Savills (Singapore) to digitize financing solutions and improve sustainability practices in the real estate industry1. With more industry partnerships in the pipeline, banco aims to reach more than 1,000 MSMEs by 2022.

“In Southeast Asia, MSMEs contribute more than 50% of ASEAN countries’ GDP, but still face challenges in securing financing to meet the needs of their businesses. Furthermore, as ASEAN adapts to climate change, ensuring that MSMEs are included and incentivized to become greener and more sustainable is critical, as the region swings towards a more sustainable development path. Technology and new data-driven financial products will play an important role in improving access to sustainable finance for MSMEs, Lincoln added.