SG startup Proxtera closes seed funding round backed by Ant, EDBI

Proxtera has closed its seed round of funding, securing fresh funds to further develop its digital cross-border trade and financial services. The round was led by Ant Group, CerraCap Ventures, and EDBI.

The company is the result of the Business sans Border initiative, which aims to create a global ecosystem of MSMEs through trusted credentials, and to enable B2B cross-border trade through financing and fulfillment services.

The CEO of Proxtera, Saurav Bhattacharyya, expressed his excitement at the support of investors who share the company’s vision. He believes that the funding will enable Proxtera to bring its product to more Singapore businesses, expand its talent pool, and make a positive impact on MSMEs in the world of cross-border trade and finance.

Partner at CerraCap Ventures, Vikas Datt, described Proxtera’s mission to digitally enable MSMEs as unique and in line with their aspiration to impact a billion lives. He also expressed confidence in Proxtera’s success, with the active support from the Singapore Government and strategic investors like Ant Group.

Proxtera has already launched several initiatives to help MSMEs, such as the SME Financial Empowerment program, the Emerging Markets Currency Exchange, and the Ghana Integrated Financial Corridor.

The company is well placed to further develop and release more digital products to cover the end-to-end digital trade journey for a B2B trade.

Damien Pang, Deputy Chief FinTech Officer of FinTech Infrastructure Office & FinTech Ecosystem Office, Monetary Authority of Singapore, said that the partners bring good synergies of global investor expertise in high-growth strategic industries with digital financial services and platform expertise.

Pang looks forward to enabling more SMEs to have greater access to finance, FinTech, payments, and other relevant services that support businesses, employment, and local economic development.

Der Yao Leong, the Assistant Chief Executive, Sectoral Transformation Group, IMDA, expressed his excitement at the journey from the successful Business Sans Borders Proof-of-Concept in 2018 to the launch of Proxtera and the closing of the series seed funding.

He believes that support from strategic investors will further strengthen Singapore’s position as a leading digital hub for innovation.

Jia Hang, Regional General Manager for Southeast Asia of Ant Group, said that the company’s mission is to make it easy for everyone to do business anywhere. He expressed hope that every small and micro enterprise would have equal development opportunities enabled through the adoption of digital innovation.

He believes that Proxtera’s mission to simplify and amplify trade and increase market access for SMEs using technology to grow and scale is closely aligned with Ant Group’s mission.