Danny Phua’s commitment to SMEs comes in the form of ensuring that their financing is the most appropriate to them.
What’s your story?
With over a decade in SME banking and fintech, I’ve focused on closing financing gaps for underserved businesses. At Standard Chartered, my leadership in SME lending earned recognition from China’s banking regulator and internal awards. Later, at a Shanghai P2P fintech startup, I developed a passion for alternative lending. In 2023, I co-founded SmartLend to make SME financing more inclusive through AI-driven solutions. Transitioning from traditional banking to fintech was a leap of faith, but my combined expertise in risk, product, and digital innovation uniquely positions me to create impactful, tech-enabled financial solutions for small businesses.
What excites you most about your industry?
I’m excited about the opportunity to truly democratise access to financing for SMEs. With tech and data, we can level the playing field and give every business owner a fair shot, regardless of size or connections in the area of business finance.
What drives you in your career to push beyond what other people consider normal?
I’m driven by solving real problems for real people. When I look at the SME lending landscape, I see a system that’s broken, opaque, and often stacked against the very businesses it claims to support. It’s not just about inefficiencies—it’s about missed opportunities and livelihoods put at risk. I’m not content with small fixes or incremental change. We aim to fundamentally reshape the entire lending experience—making it faster, fairer, and more transparent. For us at SmartLend, it’s about building solutions that empower entrepreneurs, fuel growth, and create a financing ecosystem that actually works for SMEs.
What have been the most useful skills you have learnt and applied in your journey?
Adaptability, storytelling, and listening have been essential throughout my journey. The fintech space evolves rapidly, and the needs of SMEs shift just as quickly—what worked yesterday may not work tomorrow. Being adaptable means staying ahead of the curve, embracing change, and iterating fast. Storytelling is equally important; whether pitching to investors, onboarding partners, or engaging customers, the ability to clearly communicate our vision and the “why” behind our solutions makes all the difference. But above all, listening—truly understanding the challenges SMEs face—has been the foundation. Their insights shape our products and ensure we’re solving real problems, not imagined ones.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
Build something people need, not just something they want. That’s the difference between just a good idea and being able to build a lasting business.
Who inspires you?
Henry Ford. My favorite quote “Don’t Find Fault, Find A Remedy”
Ford’s innovations transformed transportation, manufacturing, and labor practices, shaping the modern industrial economy. This sort of mimics the idea (rigid lending criteria, cumbersome loan processes, lack of credit information, lack of alternatives etc..) behind what we want to do when we start SmartLend focusing on serving financing needs of SMEs.
What have you learnt recently that blew you away?
Even in 2025, bias remains a significant barrier in SME financing. Many lenders continue to depend on outdated, manual underwriting processes that favour businesses with long credit histories, traditional collateral, or strong personal networks. This often excludes a wide segment of deserving SMEs—especially younger, digitally-native, or minority-owned businesses—that don’t fit the conventional mould but have strong fundamentals and growth potential. Despite advances in data and technology, risk assessment models in many institutions are still limited by rigid criteria and subjective judgment. Promising entrepreneurs get overlooked—not because they’re high-risk, but because the tools used to assess them are outdated.
If you had your time again, what would you do differently?
I would invest earlier in product and engineering. The sooner you can automate and scale, the faster you can test, learn, and grow.
How do you unwind?
Spending time with my family, and occasionally sneaking in a football match or a long walk. Disconnecting helps me return with clarity.
What is a major mindset change, belief shift or ‘ah ha’ moment that you’ve experienced in relation to your career?
We realised SMEs don’t need more loan options—they need clarity. The market is crowded with products, but many business owners struggle to understand which one truly fits their needs. That insight led us to pivot from a basic comparison site to a Smart Lending Aggregator Platform. Instead of just listing loans, we use data and AI to match SMEs with the right financing options based on their profile, timing, and goals. Our platform simplifies a complex process, bringing transparency and personalisation to SME lending. It’s about empowering businesses to make confident, informed decisions—not overwhelming them with choices.
Everyone in business should read this book:
Good to Great by Jim Collins – Talked about focusing on company success instead of personal ego. Having the right people to be in the team first before setting company strategy. Building a culture of discipline. Adopting tech that aligns with the company directions. Greatness comes from consistent pushes in the same direction.
Shameless plug for your business or career:
SmartLend is Singapore’s first digital SME loan aggregator integrated with Singpass and CBS. We simplify financing by matching business owners with the most suitable alternative lenders—fast, transparent, and zero hidden broker fees. Over 5,000 SMEs have trusted our service since 2020 when we started our Smart Towkay as a loan comparison platform.
How can people connect with you?
Website: https://smart-lend.com/
Social Media Links?
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danny-phua-8a116b43/
This interview is part of the CallumConnects series.