Singapore-based loan matching platform Lendela announced the appointment of Kent Huang as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Steven Wong as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to support its expansion across Asia Pacific (APAC).
With decades of international leadership experience across the realms of finance and fintech, the appointments mark a significant step in Lendela’s executive leadership expansion as it continues to scale its unique reverse auction model across the region, the firm said in a statement.
As Lendela expands across the Asia Pacific, the leadership of Kent Huang and Steven Wong will play a key role in scaling the company’s operations, preserving Lendela’s leading position in the region’s lending market, and ensuring that lending remains transparent, fair, and efficient for both borrowers and financial institutions.
According to the statement, Wong will be based in Kuala Lumpur, while Huang will operate from Singapore.
Having spent over 15 years in leadership roles across high-growth startups in the region, Wong’s track record in scaling tech-driven financial platforms positions him well to scale Lendela’s technology infrastructure on the systems and organizational levels and across its markets.
“The reverse auction model is a breakthrough in lending that has already created a much more transparent and competitive space where both borrowers and lenders benefit”, said Wong.
“Lenders can acquire customers more efficiently while borrowers gain access to better, more tailored financing options,
“I’m very excited to help Lendela optimize this experience at scale, ensuring technology continues to enable informed financial decisions across the Asia Pacific”, he added.
Meanwhile, with nearly two decades of financial leadership experience at some of the world’s most prominent fintech and financial services companies including PayPal and Intuit, Huang will steer financial strategy and management, risk management, and regulatory compliance to support Lendela’s rapid growth, ensuring the company maintains its strong growth trajectory while upholding financial integrity and transparency.
“A fintech’s story isn’t and shouldn’t be just about growth—it’s also about sustainable, responsible scaling”, said Huang.
“Lendela is at the forefront of this shift, ensuring both borrowers and lenders thrive in an ecosystem built on transparency and efficiency,
“My goal is to drive financial governance and strategy that supports long-term expansion while reinforcing trust in digital lending across Asia Pacific”, he added.
Founded in 2018, Lendela is a fast-growing fintech aims to simplify financing and enable greater financial access.
Its reverse auction model flips the script on lending by enabling financial institutions to bid for borrowers and offer them their most competitive financing option.
This enables borrowers to access fair and transparent loan options, while financial institutions benefit from more efficient customer acquisition at a lower cost, creating a win-win for everyone. Since the beginning of 2024, Lendela has increased its workforce by almost 30 percent through a series of hires at all levels.
The fintech platform has facilitated over 400,000 loan applications to date and counts well over 100 lenders across the region as partners, including some of the largest banks in Singapore and Hong Kong—proving the model’s ability to empower borrowers and financial institutions alike.
In 2023, Lendela successfully raised $5 million in an oversubscribed Series A to scale its unique model across Asia Pacific.
The company’s backers include Singlife co-founder Walter de Oude’s Chocolate Ventures as well as prominent Singapore-based VC firm Cocoon Capital. Lendela currently serves customers in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia.
“With Wong’s track record in fintech product innovation and Huang’s extensive experience in financial leadership, we are well-positioned to scale sustainably while staying true to our mission of making borrowing fairer and more transparent”, said Nima Karimi, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Lendela.
“Lendela has created a unique model where consumers make better financial decisions and lenders gain access to a wider pool of qualified borrowers at lower acquisition costs, and I know that the duo will be instrumental in scaling this win-win model across the region”, he added.