Choco Up launches $30m private credit facility with CHUAN

By Aarav Garg

Choco Up, a Singapore-based growth financing platform, has launched a $30 million private credit facility in partnership with CHUAN, tech-driven credit specialist, to provide better financing access for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the Asia-Pacific region.

The facility is designed to provide working capital more efficiently by matching funding with the operational cycles of small businesses. The first drawdown has already been completed, marking the start of deployment.

The partnership combines CHUAN’s access to institutional capital with Choco Up’s data-driven credit assessment capabilities. According to the companies, this approach allows funding approvals to be completed within hours, compared with traditional lending processes that can take up to six months.

Percy Hung, CEO and Founder of Choco Up, said, “SMEs today don’t just need access to capital. They need financing that keeps pace with how their businesses operate. We’re excited to partner with CHUAN to provide disciplined, transparent, and carefully managed capital, helping businesses continue to grow and innovate even when traditional lending options are limited.”

By merging artificial intelligence-based credit assessment and real-time business data, the model hopes to improve speed and transparency. Capital providers are given almost real-time visibility into the performance of underlying assets, which might enhance confidence and make the asset class more attractive to investors.

Choco Up said it has supported more than $1 billion in gross merchandise value through its financing model to date. CHUAN contributes capital markets expertise, a global investor network and infrastructure to distribute diversified credit opportunities within the digital economy.

The initiative is said to reflect a broader effort within the FinTech sector to address funding gaps faced by SMEs by using technology to streamline credit assessment and delivery, while improving transparency for investors.