FinTech Sleek Lands $4M For Corporate Services Platform

Financial technology company Sleek has reportedly netted $4 million in venture funding for its efforts to take on the traditional corporate services industry.

SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore, led the funding round, which also included MI8 Ltd., a Hong-Kong multifamily office, and investor Pierre Lorinet, an Enterprise Singapore board member.

“It has been extremely humbling to experience the growth we’ve seen at Sleek over the last three years, even more so amidst the global pandemic, which has been a growth catalyst for fully digital players like us,” said Julien Labruyere, CEO of the FinTech Sleek. “Ultimately, we envision Sleek to be the go-to digital platform for all entrepreneurs setting up in Singapore, Hong Kong and beyond,” he told the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore.

Labruyere added that the funding “will be used to expand to new markets in Asia and develop digital tools” by offering corporate and financial services aimed at entrepreneurs, investors and small to medium-size businesses (SMBs).

Sleek said it strives to offer a wide range of cloud-based services, from company incorporation and ongoing compliance management to digital accounting and tax filing in Singapore and Hong Kong.

According to the Enterprise Singapore website, it’s the “government agency championing enterprise development.” The website said that it supports the growth of Singapore as a hub for global trading and startups and works to build trust in the nation’s products and services.

Singapore itself has a growing economy, with 1.4 million documented foreign workers. This has meant the adoption of mobile payments that make it easier for these workers to send their earnings back to their home countries.

Sam Tay, CEO of FinTech Aptiv8, noted that his company offers an app for foreign workers.

“Every month when they are being paid by their [employers] … the majority of that money would be remitted back to their families in their hometowns, in their own countries — and they’d just retain maybe a couple hundred [dollars] of their disposable income in Singapore for their daily food and necessities,” Tay noted.