Q&A with Sudeep Periwal, Silverhorn's Head of Private Debt

To date, Silverhorn’s Head of Private Debt, Sudeep Periwal , has placed ~USD 500mn of investments in 30+ companies across Asia. With 10+ years of impact investing experience, Sudeep looks at the fintech lending space and how private debt is able to provide investors with sustainable financial returns.??

1. How does fintech fit into the private debt space???

In Southeast Asia, millions of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) do not have access to banking. The fintech industry is meeting the demand with financing solutions as tech-driven private debt lenders. These lenders are agile in their credit policies and have innovative financing structures which is currently lacking in traditional banking. This is beneficial for lenders of fintech platforms, who secure attractive risk-returns without exposure to the mark-to-market fluctuations of public markets as well as to the SME borrowers who gain access to liquidity.?

2. When does fintech lending translate to impact investing???

In Asia, fintech platforms are leading the way towards financial inclusion and is making impact investing accessible to a larger number of private investors. For these investors, financial inclusion adds value as an impact strategy, which targets the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) to end poverty and reduce inequalities, while generating sustained financial returns.??

Fintech lenders alleviate global problems, such as through taking climate action (by means of financing regenerative agriculture, carbon emission reductions, investments in renewable energy, etc.) and solving gender inequality (through financing women-centric, women-founded, or women-managed businesses).??

3. In your view, why is Asia a strong case for private debt??

Southeast Asia’s digital financial services catering to the unbanked and underbanked are earning a cumulative revenue of USD 11bn – the market opportunity is large and growing. In addition, local regulators are supportive of the fintech industry as it drives product innovation.??

It’s important to note that while the opportunity in the sector is enormous, to generate attractive returns these funds require specialised knowledge on the ground to evaluate the fintech companies’ business, loan pool, and debt structuring capabilities. By partnering with local managers, investors can gain access to extensive networks to businesses which are growing steadily towards profitability and have the wherewithal to support portfolio companies through economic downturns.??

View the full insight on fintech lending through private debt by registering to receive our 2023 Annual Outlook Report here: https://forms.office.com/r/vSLbkjWyF2