Proxtera has announced the successful first close of its Series Seed round of funding, with investments from Ant Group, CerraCap Ventures, and EDBI.
Proxtera is the result of the Business sans Border initiative led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), with the vision to create a global, open ecosystem of MSMEs through trusted credentials and enable B2B cross-border trade through financing and fulfillment services.
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.
Saurav Bhattacharyya, CEO of Proxtera, expressed excitement about the support of investors who share the company’s vision, and the funding will allow for the expansion of their product to more Singapore businesses, spread to select global markets, expand their talented workforce, and positively impact MSMEs in the world of cross-border trade and finance.
Returning as an investor, Vikas Datt, Partner at CerraCap Ventures, praised Proxtera’s unique mission to digitally enable MSMEs, and stated that the company is well-positioned for success, with active support from the Singapore Government and strategic investors like Ant Group.
Proxtera is poised to further develop and release more digital products, covering the end-to-end digital trade journey for B2B trade, with the launch of the SME Financial Empowerment program, Emerging Markets Currency Exchange, and Ghana Integrated Financial Corridor.
Damien Pang, Deputy Chief FinTech Officer at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, expressed excitement about the partners’ global investor expertise in high-growth strategic industries with digital financial services and platform expertise, which will enable SMEs to have greater access to finance, FinTech, payments, and other relevant services that support businesses, employment, and local economic development.
Der Yao Leong, Assistant Chief Executive of Sectoral Transformation Group at IMDA, added that support from strategic investors will strengthen Singapore’s position as a leading digital hub for innovation, and Proxtera’s milestones will continue to provide SMEs greater access to global trade opportunities.
Ant Group’s Regional General Manager for Southeast Asia, Jia Hang, expressed their mission to make it easy to do business anywhere, with a focus on providing equal development opportunities for small and micro-enterprises enabled through digital innovation.
The collaboration with Proxtera will enhance the digital capacity and open ecosystem for the global SME community, bridging market access, and creating more opportunities for MSMEs through digitalization of trade and financing.
Proxtera’s mission is to transform business-to-business trade using technology to make marketplaces efficient and discoverable globally, enabling holistic cross-marketplace and cross-border trade leveraging trusted credentials to improve financing, fulfillment, and empowerment.
The company was launched in 2020 as the operationalisation of the Business sans Borders initiative by MAS and IMDA, aiming to increase cross-border trade opportunities and enhance digital and financial inclusivity for MSMEs in the underserved global B2B e-commerce market space. – Business Break