SeedIn Technology is a mobile app, a web-based financial platform that matches Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with potential investors. Or Executive Director Edison Tsai likes to joke, “It’s essentially Tinder for SMEs —and you don’t even have to swipe right!” The easy-to-use app has taken the world of finance by storm, making the stuffily perceived industry accessible for everybody. The model has been so successful that SeedIn Technology is now the biggest P2B (person to business) crowd lending platform in the region and has put over $200 million in SMEs across Asia.
SeedIn Technology was brought to the Philippines by Edison Tsai, a successful entrepreneur who founded his first company, Sigmasouth Technologies, at only 21 years old. After selling the software business, Tsai looked for the next big thing. He saw the potential in SeedIn’s inclusive model and the benefits it would give SMEs and investors in the country. He tirelessly worked to bring the company here from Taiwan and Singapore, eventually launching operations in 2017.
Planting the Seed for SMEs
SeedIn Technology has changed the game of finance by tapping into SMEs, a sector that is often overlooked by banks due to their heavy risk portfolios or low credit scores. The company’s crowdfunding model has found a decentralized solution to financing. While banks are centralized (meaning their money comes from one place), SeedIn pulls together the resources of the thousands of people who use their app. Tsai calls crowdfunding “The People’s Bank.” As a result, many small businesses are flourishing and helping the economy grow.
The process to be a “listed business” on SeedIn’s app is smooth and easy. SMEs need to apply for inclusion. SeedIn then takes over, doing the necessary due diligence by analyzing the company’s financials and business plans. Once approved, they go live on the app, where their loan requests become visible to a vast network of investors. These investors need to press a button to loan money to deserving SMEs looking for capital. With SeedIn’s stamp of approval, the possibilities for SMEs and investors are endless.
Financial Inclusion
The Fin-Tech company is also trying to make the finance sector more inclusive by allowing anybody to be an investor. What was once a job reserved for high net worth individuals has now become accessible to anyone over 18 years old, as long as they have a Philippine bank account. The process is easy: download the app on the Google or Apple store, upload your ID, register, and done within 15 minutes. Now the fun begins to the fascinating and prosperous world of finance. SeedIn also provides investors with the proper information that shows how the SMEs plan to use the loan and how/when they will get payment back. They offer an average of 10% per annum returns, and you can invest for as low as PHP 1,000.
While SeedIn is relatively new in the Philippines, Tsai is optimistic that it will leave a positive social and economic impact on the country. “It’s really about connecting people and allowing them to invest in an easy, convenient way,” he says with a hopeful disposition. “We’re not lending [to the big conglomerates] because they don’t need us. We’re thinking about the other 99%. That’s our mission—our social purpose.” The company encourages “social lending” by providing local businesses with impact investment capital to aid their growth.
Serve the Deserving
Now operating in the Philippines for five years, SeedIn Technology has continued serving deserving SMEs and discerning investors. Today they have over 80,000 investors across 80 countries around the world. Local companies that have benefited from the model include: Ellena Mineral Cosmetics, Vida Nutriscience Inc. (which produces popular Glutathione Capsules Snow Caps), natural foods corporation Multifresh, and account software enterprise Xirrus, amongst many others. As the only P2B SME crowd lending platform in Asia, SeedIn plans to further educate SMEs and investors on alternative financing and investment by branching out to other regions in the near future.
For more information, visit https://www.seedinph.tech.
