Company Spotlight: Elephants - Rewiring SME Fintech in Southeast Asia

Elephants is building the financial operating system Southeast Asia’s SMEs didn’t know they needed—but won’t want to live without. Headquartered in Singapore, this next-gen fintech startup is consolidating payments, FX, cards, compliance, and expense management into one intuitive, daily-use platform.

Think of it as a unified fintech stack, streamlined, borderless, and built specifically for the region’s 8.8 million underserved SMEs. With zero FX fees, smart Visa cards, seamless compliance tools, and a rewards engine, Elephants is turning friction into flow for a new generation of businesses.

Why They Stand Out

• All-in-One OS for SME Finances:
  One platform for payments, FX, card issuing, compliance, and expense tools—solving fragmentation across Southeast Asia’s SME ecosystem.

• Massive Market, Largely Untapped:
  60% of SEA jobs and 40% of GDP are tied to SMEs, yet only 5% are served by modern fintech. Elephants is bridging this $100B+ opportunity.

• Sticky Product, Daily Utility:
  Daily use case with smart expense OCR, instant card issuing, 0% FX fees, and integrated perks like eSIM and insurance.

• Early Proof of Product-Market Fit:
  Over 1,000 community members and growing.

Why to Watch

• SEA’s First Rewards-Based SME Fintech:
  Full-stack solution (stablecoin, FX, global/local payments, lending), and the first tailored rewards model for solopreneurs and SMEs.

• Low CAC & High Scalability:
  SaaS-like revenue model across payments, FX, cards, lending—priced competitively.

• Founders with Proven Fintech Execution:
  Built by former leaders from Zipmex, ING, Airtasker, and Harvard Business School with deep regional execution experience.

Meet the Team

• Jonathan Low - Co-Founder, ex-ING, with a track record in digital asset platforms and financial operations across Southeast Asia.

• Proud Limpongpan - Co-Founder, ex-SEA Exchange, HBS alum, with deep fintech product and marketing experience across Southeast Asia.

WOWS Take

With massive whitespace, regional regulatory tailwinds, and a sticky, daily-use product, Elephants is set to become the go-to fintech layer for SMEs across Southeast Asia. Their early traction, lean build, and sharp founding team make them one of the most investable fintech startups emerging from the region today.

Want to be part of the fintech OS wave for SEA SMEs?