Investing Forward

Part two of our focus on fintech looks at how technological advancements have changed the way we operate our businesses and raise capital, redefining the old ways of commerce for a brave new world.

- Swaroopini Udhaya Nair

GROWTH CHANGES

The economic landscape of today is unpredictable at best and tumultuous at worst, with the rise and fall of numerous financial and economic trends. A growing onslaught of startup’s and small to medium-sized enterprises (SME’s) have taken over the business scene which can be taken as a positive sign that the landscape is ripe to nurture new and burgeoning business however with the added on tools of e-commerce, technological advancements, key data research and the introduction of smarter and efficient systems, the traditional methods of operating a business have become defunct. Growth and change are commonplace in today’s business ecosystem and not adapting to these evolutions could be detrimental to a newer business.

According to a study done by Fundera in 2018, 82% of businesses failed due to cashflow problems. A solution that many turn to is alternative financing and Asian countries like Singapore and China have adopted or created methods that align traditional finance providers with the growing alternative finance industry. Singaporean regulators alone have placed around MYR 932 million aside to fund and develop their local FinTech companies and China building their peer-to-peer (P2P) market to become the largest in the region.