Funding Societies and STACS join forces to empower Indonesian MSMEs in ESG Reporting and Sustainable Financing

Jakarta, Singapore, 17 October 2023 –

In a strategic move that promises to catalyse the growth of Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (‘MSMEs’) while advancing sustainability efforts, Funding Societies (operating as Modalku in Indonesia), the largest unified SME digital finance platform in Southeast Asia, has joined forces with Asia’s leading Environmental, Social, and Governance (‘ESG’) data and technology solutions company, STACS, to utilize STACS’s ESGpedia platform to support ESG reporting and sustainable financing solutions for MSMEs in Indonesia.

As climate change and environmental concerns continue to be at the forefront of global challenges, businesses are under increasing pressure to adopt sustainable practices to meet regulations and maintain competitiveness. While MSMEs play a pivotal role in the Indonesia economy, accounting for 99 percent of existing businesses in the country, many of them lack the expertise and resources to start on sustainability. Recognising this, STACS and Funding Societies have taken active steps to support MSMEs on their sustainability journey and to fill the current MSME ESG data gap in the Southeast Asia market, especially in Indonesia.

Through the partnership, Funding Societies will promote STACS’s ESGpedia platform to enable Funding Societies’ ecosystem of MSMEs to easily kickstart their ESG reporting journey. The partnership will also explore the provision of sustainability-linked and green financing options for MSMEs, based on data aggregated and collected on ESGpedia. Through ESGpedia, MSMEs in Indonesia can get free access to a digital platform which simplifies various ESG standards and frameworks, as well as automatically converts operational data like fuel, refrigerant, and electricity consumption to GHG emissions under the standard GHG Protocol, localized to Indonesia. This allows the MSMEs as well as Funding Societies to gain greater insights into the company’s carbon footprint to facilitate sustainable financing decisions.

Funding Societies will be able to tap on ESGpedia’s vast data of over 5 million sustainability data points and 107,000 company profiles aggregated and harmonised by its AI-powered engine, to access vital ESG data for informed lending decisions.

Benjamin Soh, Managing Director at STACS, said: “SME enablement across ASEAN is key in speeding up the region’s transition to Net Zero, and maintaining its competitiveness in the global supply chain. We are delighted to be partnering with Funding Societies to empower its ecosystem of SMEs in Indonesia in their ESG reporting journey. The partnership’s exploration of sustainability-linked and green financing options based on ESG data aggregated and collected on ESGpedia is also a step forward in improving access to sustainable financing for MSMEs in the region.”

The partnership is part of the ASEAN Single AccessPoint for ESG Data (‘SAFE’) pilot initiative, led by the Sustainable Finance Institute Asia (‘SFIA’) to address ESG data and disclosure gaps in ASEAN markets. The launch in Indonesia follows the successful launch of ESGpedia in other ASEAN countries: the Philippines with PDS Group in September, as well as in Vietnam with Bamboo Capital Group, earlier in August.

Arthur Adisusanto, Country Head at Modalku, said: “Funding Societies is committed to providing access to finance for MSMEs. We are delighted to be joining forces with STACS ESGpedia, to take our mission one step further, enabling MSMEs to be introduced to a platform that allows them to disclose ESG data in a straightforward way. This partnership will provide Indonesian MSMEs with the ability to be more conscious about their activities as well as with the financial resources necessary to invest in eco-friendly technologies, reduce their carbon footprint, and implement sustainable business practices.”

In addition to facilitating sustainable financing, STACS and Funding Societies plan to offer educational resources and guidance to MSMEs through workshops. These initiatives aim to promote awareness and understanding of how to navigate sustainability among MSMEs, ultimately driving positive change within the region. Two of Funding Societies’ sustainability pillars are “Stronger Planet” and “Stronger People”, pillars that aim to support the transition to a greener economy in Southeast Asia and focus on creating an inclusive, diverse, and equal space for its stakeholders to do business responsibly.

For further information, please contact:

Funding Societies (www.fundingsocieties.com)
Natasha Helena, Junior Communications Manager
Email: [email protected]

STACS (www.stacs.io)
Grace Lim, Senior Marketing Manager
Email: [email protected]

About Funding Societies
Funding Societies | Modalku is the largest unified SME digital finance platform in Southeast Asia. It is licensed in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, registered in Malaysia, and operates in Vietnam. The FinTech company provides US$1 billion annually of business financing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Its recent strategic milestones include its acquisition of regional digital payments platform CardUp (subject to regulatory approval) and co-investment into Bank Index in Indonesia.

Funding Societies | Modalku is backed by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, SoftBank Ventures Asia, Sequoia Capital India, Alpha JWC Ventures, SMBC Bank, BRI Ventures, VNG Corporation, Rapyd Ventures, Endeavor, EBDI, SGInnovative, Qualgro, and Golden Gate Ventures among others. It was given the MAS FinTech Award in 2016, the Global SME Excellence Award at the United Nations’ ITU Telecom World in 2017, KPMG Fintech100 in 2018, Brands for Good in 2019, and ASEAN Startup of the Year by Global Startup Awards in 2020. In 2021, it won the MAS FinTech Award for the second time, and received the Platinum award for Responsible Digital Innovator of the Year at the 2022 Global SME Finance Awards organised by IFC (under the World Bank Group). Recently, it won the ASEAN Business Award 2023 for Trade and Investment Facilities – Innovative Investment organised by ABAC.

About STACS
STACS (Hashstacs Pte Ltd) is Asia’s leading ESG data and technology company, headquartered in Singapore. Its ESGpedia platform powers the ESCAP Sustainable Business Network (ESBN) Asia-Pacific Green Deal digital platform, the ASEAN Single Accesspoint for ESG Data (SAFE) pilot initiative, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Project Greenprint ESG Registry. ESGpedia serves as the Nexus of ESG Finance with ESG data and digital solutions across multiple industries, for the financial sector, corporates, and SMEs to attain their ESG goals. For more information, please visit www.stacs.io.

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