Philippines
Singapore’s Credit Culture raises $29.5M for its soon-to-launch digital loan business
Singapore’s digital fintech companies are attracting investor attention and dollars in 2019. Fresh from Singapore Life — a digital-only insurer — raising $33 million across two recently closed rounds, so…
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VCs give us their predictions for startups and tech in Southeast Asia in 2019
The new year is well underway and, before January is out, we polled VCs in Southeast Asia to get their thoughts on what to expect in 2019. The number of VCs in the region has increased massively in recent years, in no small part due to forecasts of growth in the tech space as internet…
Go-Jek buys fintech startup Coins.ph for $72M ahead of Philippines expansion
Ride-hailing startup Go-Jek’s expansion into the Philippines ran into problems earlier this month over its ownership structure, but that isn’t deterring the Indonesian company from investing into the market. Today, Go-Jek…
Momo, Vietnam’s top payment app, lands big Series C investment led by Warburg Pincus
Fintech in Southeast Asia continues to pique the attention of global investors. Alibaba, Tencent and others have jumped into the region and deployed hundreds of millions of dollars, and now Warburg…
Facebook is launching political ad checks in Nigeria, Ukraine, EU and India in coming months
Facebook is launching some of its self-styled ‘election security’ initiatives in more markets in the coming months, ahead of several major votes in countries around the world. In an interview…
Go-Jek’s Southeast Asia expansion runs into a roadblock in the Philippines
Southeast Asian ride-hailing challenger Go-Jek has expanded into three new markets as it bids to expand beyond its native Indonesia, but it is having major issues getting into a fourth.…
Auto marketplace CarDekho grabs $110M to double down on insurance and financial services
CarDekho, an online marketplace for car sales in India, has pulled in a new $110 million Series C funding round from a clutch of existing investors to push deeper into…
Netflix rival Iflix offloads its Africa business to focus on Asia
Iflix, the emerging-market Netflix competitor that’s backed by Sky, is leaving Africa to double down on its business in Asia. The Malaysia-based company announced today it has sold the remaining…
TNB Aura closes $22.7M fund to bring PE-style investing to Southeast Asia’s startups
TNB Aura, a recent arrival to Southeast Asia’s VC scene, announced today that it has closed a maiden fund at SG$31.1million, or around US$22.65 million, to bring a more private equity-like…
Netflix rival Iflix launches $5M search for up-and-coming filmmakers in Asia
Netflix is increasing its efforts in Asia after it commissioned more local content and began testing more aggressive price points, but one local rival is hitting back with a program to spotlight…
Philippines fintech business Voyager raises $215M in Tencent-led round
One of the year’s largest fintech investments in Southeast Asia has closed after Philippines-based Voyager announced it raised $215 million. The bulk of the deal comes via a previously announced investment from…
Topica raises $50M for its online learning services in Southeast Asia
Vietnam’s startup ecosystem is making forward progress. Just a week after 500 Startups’ local entity closed a $14 million fund for early-stage investments, one of the country’s elder statesmen of…
Sweet Escape connects travelers to photographers for truly Insta-worthy holiday pics
The rise of smartphone cameras and social media in recent years has fuelled a new level of marking and sharing memories using photos, but one startup is betting that people…
Chinese WeWork rival Ucommune raises $200M to go after international growth
China’s Ucommune, the country’s largest rival to WeWork, has been on a busy acquisition spree to build out its domestic business and now it is looking at overseas opportunities after…
Grab lands $50M from Thailand’s Kasikorn Bank to further its fintech push
Southeast Asia ride-hailing firm Grab is continuing to add strategic investors to its ongoing Series H round — which is targeted at more than $3 billion — after it revealed…
Tencent backs fintech firm Voyager to set up battle with Alibaba in the Philippines
China’s internet battle is rapidly reproducing itself in Southeast Asia. One new hotspot is the Philippines, where Tencent just agreed to invest in Voyager, a fintech business started by telecom…
Africa Roundup: Paga goes global and 4 startups raise $99M in VC
Nigerian digital payments startup Paga is gearing up for international expansion with a $10 million round led by the Global Innovation Fund. The company is exploring the release of its payments product in…
Philippines SME lending startup First Circle raises $26M ahead of regional expansion
This year has been a breakout one for micro-financing startups in Southeast Asia, which are becoming among the most funded within the region’s fintech space. Next in line to raise…
Go-Jek plans to raise $2B more for Southeast Asia ride-hailing battle
Indonesia’s Go-Jek is planning to raise $2 billion from investors to fuel its ride-hailing battle with Grab in Southeast Asia. Go-Jek raised $1.5 billion earlier this year from investors that…
Facebook is hiring a director of human rights policy to work on “conflict prevention” and “peace-building”
Facebook is advertising for a human rights policy director to join its business, located either at its Menlo Park HQ or in Washington DC — with “conflict prevention” and “peace-building”…
With a $10 million round, Nigeria’s Paga plans global expansion
Nigerian digital payments startup Paga is gearing up for an international expansion with $10 million in funding let by the Global Innovation Fund. The company is planning to release its payments product in…
Observe.AI raises $8M to use artificial intelligence to improve call centers
Being stuck on the phone with call centers is painful. We all know this. Observe.AI is one company that wants to make the experience more bearable, and it’s raised $8 million to…
Grab picks up $2 billion more to fuel growth in post-Uber Southeast Asia
Grab, the ride-hailing service that struck a deal to take Uber out of Southeast Asia, has announced that it has pulled in $2 billion in new capital as it seeks…
Go-Jek kicks off Southeast Asia expansion with Vietnam launch
Go-Jek, the Indonesia-based ride-sharing company valued at $5 billion, has begun its ambitious plan to increase its rivalry with Grab by expanding into three new markets after it opened shop in…
Experian leads $28M investment in Southeast Asia fintech startup C88
Experian is making its first major bet on Southeast Asia and its population of over 650 million consumers after the financial credit giant backed Singapore-based C88 Financial Technologies, which operates financial marketplaces…
Alibaba’s Ant Financial fintech affiliate raises $14 billion to continue its global expansion
Ant Financial, the financial services affiliate connected to Alibaba which operates the Alipay mobile payment service, has confirmed that it has closed a Series C funding round that totals an…
What Zuckerberg’s congressional testimony doesn’t say
There’s a lot of keen analytical hindsight on display in Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s written testimony to Congress ahead of his appearance at hearings on Wednesday, but nothing that…
Rappler, a new media organization critical of the Philippines government, faces closure
Rappler, a high-profile new media news organization in the Philippines, is facing closure after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revoked its registration for an alleged breach of the country’s constitution. Rappler…
Fighting fake news online wins these three projects accolades
There are few greater threats to democracy in the world today than the proliferation of fake news and propaganda. So it was no surprise that this year’s National Democratic Institute’s (NDI) prestigious Democracy…
Snapcart raises $10M to shed light on consumer spending in emerging markets
Taking on a giant like the $15 billion research firm Nielsen is no easy task. But tucked away in Southeast Asia, Snapcart is a two-year old company that is making progress…
