Scaling SME Lending Without Burning Capital
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What’s the real fintech miracle? Lending to SMEs — and staying alive 9 years later.
In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, we’re joined by Nikhilesh Goel, Co-Founder & CEO of Validus, Southeast Asia’s largest SME financing platform. We unpack how Validus scaled to $5B+ in credit across the region by avoiding the hype and building disciplined, anchor-based lending models that work.
💡 Why SME lending is a graveyard for most fintechs
💡 Why 90% of Validus' capital comes from banks, not VCs
💡 AI that serves the ops, not the pitch
💡 How they scaled across SEA without shortcuts
🎧 Full episode now live on YouTube, Spotify & Apple Podcasts. Watch if you're building real fintech — not just noise.
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