Proxtera announces successful first close, of Series Seed round of funding with Ant Group, CerraCap Ventures, and EDBI
(Left-Right) Mr Jia Hang, Regional General Manager for Southeast Asia, Ant Group, Mr Lew Chuen Hong, Chief Executive of the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Mr Saurav Bhattacharyya, CEO, Proxtera and Mr Leong Sing Chiong, Deputy Managing Director (Markets & Development), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
Proxtera is pleased to announce the successful first close, of the Series Seed round of funding by Ant Group, CerraCap Ventures, and EDBI.
Proxtera is the operationalisation of the Business sans Borders initiative led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). Proxtera’s vision is to create a global, open ecosystem of MSMEs via trusted credentials, and enable B2B cross-border trade through services for financing & fulfillment.
The funding will be used as working capital to further develop the company’s innovative digital cross-border trade and financial services enabled by trusted credentials.
Commenting on the investment, Saurav Bhattacharyya (CEO, Proxtera) said – “We are excited to have the support of investors who share our vision and have chosen to invest in our growth. This funding will allow us to bring our product to more Singapore businesses, spread to select global markets, expand our bench of talented individuals and make a positive impact to MSMEs in the world of cross-border trade and finance.”
Returning as an investor in this round of funding, Mr. Vikas Datt, Partner CerraCap Ventures added – “Proxtera is working on a unique mission to digitally enable MSMEs, which is in line with CerraCap’s aspiration to impact a billion lives. CerraCap had led Proxtera’s previous investment round in 2020 and we are pleased to further extend our investment in this round. We believe Proxtera is well placed for success, with active support from the Singapore Government and strategic investors like Ant Group.”
With its launch of the SME Financial Empowerment program (https://smefe.org) (for digital financial literacy), the Emerging Markets Currency Exchange – EMCX (https://www.emcx.app/) (to help SMEs easily find competitive forex rates for exotic/illiquid currencies) and Ghana Integrated Financial Corridor (GIFE), Proxtera is poised to further develop and release more digital products to cover the end-to-end digital trade journey for a B2B trade.
Mr. Damien Pang, Deputy Chief FinTech Officer, FinTech Infrastructure Office & FinTech Ecosystem Office, Monetary Authority of Singapore said – “These partners bring good synergies of global investor expertise in high-growth strategic industries with digital financial services and platform expertise. We look forward to enabling SMEs to have greater access to finance, FinTech, payments and other relevant services that support businesses, employment and local economic development.”
Mr Der Yao Leong, Assistant Chief Executive, Sectoral Transformation Group, IMDA added – “From a successful Business Sans Borders Proof-of-Concept in 2018, to the launch of Proxtera, and now the closing of series seed funding, it has been an incredible journey in providing our SMEs greater access to global trade opportunities. Support from strategic investors will only strengthen Singapore’s position as a leading digital hub for innovation and we look forward to more exciting milestones for Proxtera”.
Commenting on the partnership, Mr Jia Hang, Regional General Manager for Southeast Asia, Ant Group said – “Ant Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere, and we hope every small and micro enterprise can have equal development opportunities enabled through the adoption of digital innovation. We believe this is closely aligned with Proxtera’s mission to simplify and amplify trade and increase market access for SMEs using technology to grow and scale. We are pleased to join the other investors and partners in contributing to this collaborative effort to enhance the digital capacity and open ecosystem for the global SME community. We look forward to working together and bridging market access and creating more opportunities for MSMEs through digitalization of trade and financing.”
About Proxtera
Proxtera is creating the global open digital ecosystem of MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) with trusted credentials that help them gain access to trade opportunities and financial services for greater growth.
Proxtera’s mission is to transform business-to-business trade using technology to make marketplaces efficient and discoverable globally and to enable holistic cross-marketplace and cross-border trade leveraging on trusted credentials to improve financing, fulfillment and empowerment.
Proxtera was launched at the end of 2020 as the operationalisation of the Business sans Borders (BSB) initiative by MAS and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). BSB seeks to develop a collaborative global digital infrastructure that would help to increase cross-border trade opportunities and enhance digital and financial inclusivity for MSMEs in the underserved global B2B e-commerce market space.
Find out more at https://proxtera.com or email us at contact@proxtera.com.
About Ant Group
Ant Group traces its roots back to Alipay, which was established in 2004 to create trust between online sellers and buyers. Over the years, Ant Group has grown to become one of the world’s leading open Internet platforms.
Through technological innovation, Ant Group supports its partners in providing inclusive, convenient digital life and digital financial services to consumers and SMEs. In addition, it has been introducing new technologies and products to support the digital transformation of industries and facilitate industrial collaboration. Working together with global partners, the company enables merchants and consumers to make and receive payments and remit around the world.
About CerraCap
CerraCap Ventures, a Global Venture Capital fund headquartered in Southern California, dedicated to early-stage technology investments in enterprise (B2B) solutions focused on the new fundamentals of the digital age – Enterprise AI, Cyber Security and Healthcare. It enables rapid growth of technology startups leveraging its unique Sales & Scale™ business model, driving revenue from large enterprises into its portfolio companies. For more information, visit http://www.cerracap.com
About EDBI
Investing since 1991, EDBI is a Singapore-based global investor in select high growth technology sectors ranging from Information & Communication Technology (ICT), Emerging Technology (ET), Healthcare (HC) and promising Singapore SMEs in strategic industries. As a value-creating investor, EDBI assists companies achieve their ambitious goals by leveraging our broad network, resources and expertise. With our growth capital, EDBI supports companies seeking to grow in Asia and globally through Singapore. For more information, visit https://www.edbi.com.
