Daily Briefing: Fintech startup Fundnel gets green light from Malaysia; Temasek joins $205m funding for Brazilian VC fund

And vegan consumer platform abillionVeg raises $700,000 from eight investors.

From e27:

Fintech startup Fundnel which has clinched over $138m (US$100m) in deals has officially launched its private investment marketplace in Malaysia after the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) gave it the green light to become a recognised market operator.

Fundnel Malaysia will enable many domestic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to seek alternative channels for fresh capital, just by using a single platform.

To start raising funds, a company must first fill up an online deal application on the platform, which will be screened and assessed by the Fundnel team, comprising of analysts, investment and marketing executives.

Read more here.

From Deal Street Asia:

Temasek joined the $205m (US$150m) investment round for monashees which is Brazil’s biggest venture capital (VC) firm that focuses on supporting startups in Latin America.

Temasek joins Brandywine Trust Group, S-Cubed Capital, CreditEase, IDG, Mike Krieger, Horsley Bridge Partners, the University of Minnesota, and 15 high-net-worth Brazilian families and groups in backing Monashees VIII, which focuses on backing tech startups in Latin America.

In a statement, monashees ((written in lower case) said the new fund will continue to support early-stage investments in high-growth technology startups. The $150-million pool of capital is the largest raised so far by the Sao Paulo-based VC firm.

Read more here.

From e27:

abillionVeg which is a Singapore-based vegan consumer products review platform raised $700,000 (US$500,000) from eight investors that include New York-based investment firm 1/0 Capital and Zurich-based food investment firm Blue Horizon.

The company builds a site and app for customers to locate and review various vegan products, from dishes at restaurants, packaged food items, to other consumer products such as apparel and cosmetics.

It plans to use the funding to support product development, which includes improving their search engine and review platform; integrating features and products segments for customers; and enabling businesses to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable options.

Read more here.