OREANDA-NEWS. June 25, 2015. Singapore Exchange (SGX) today said that it will support the development of CapBridge, a capital-raising platform for early-stage small and medium enterprises (SMEs), through a \\$1.5 million grant over three years.

This follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed by SGX and Clearbridge Accelerator Pte Ltd (CBA) in January this year to develop the fund-raising platform. CapBridge is expected to be operational by the second half of 2015.

Mohamed Nasser Ismail, Head of SME Development & Listing, SGX said, “There is a vibrant and sizeable start-up community in Singapore but challenges remain for them to secure financing especially in their early stages of development.  SGX is well placed to support initiatives to improve access to equity for such enterprises as part of our efforts to provide efficient, cost-effective and sustainable access to capital for SMEs at every stage of their growth. ”

SGX and CBA are also in discussions with several financial institutions as collaborators to develop demand by both enterprises and investors for the platform.