GoBear, a Singapore based fintech startup, has raised US$17 million in a funding round led by returning investors Walvis Participaties, a Dutch VC firm, and Aegon N.V., a Netherlands-based asset management company, according to a press statement.

The company said that the latest round of capital will be utilised for continued expansion across three growth pillars: An online financial supermarket, digital insurance brokerage, and digital lending, “all built on a strong foundation of alternative data”.

Following its latest acquisition of lending platform AsiaKredit, the company also has plans of expanding into other markets in Asia.

It currently has a presence in seven Asian markets including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Also Read: Financial products comparison firm GoBear acquires lending platform AsiaKredit to build regional reach

“Our latest fundraise is validation that our investors continue to see our potential for growth and that we’re on track to build a robust financial services platform that Asia needs,” said CEO Adrian Chng. “Built on our strong foundation of alternative data, we can better assess and price risk, co-create better products, and ultimately improve financial inclusion.”

Chng claims that GoBear’s digital insurance brokerage segment has seen a 52 per cent increase in average order value in the last three months.

The company has also registered a 50 per cent year-on-year revenue growth from loan products, it added.

Founded in 2015, GoBear was initially meant to be a metasearch engine, before making a transition into financial services. It currently has over 100 commercial partners, including banks and insurance providers, and is used by over 55 million people.

Last year, GoBear raised US$80 million from Aegon and Walvis Participaties. Since which, its revenues claims to have increased by over 100 per cent from consumer finance products.

This marks GoBear’s fifth fundraise to date.

In the past month, fintech startups in the region continued to gain investors’ attention. In April, fintech startups such as Investree, Modalku, and KoinWorks raised their later stage funding rounds despite uncertainty in the market due to a global health crisis.

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Image Credit: GoBear

 

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Join us in the second episode of OC27 Livestream Talkshow! It’s happening tonight, 27 May 2020 at 9:30PM SGT. Register here.

Tonight’s episode will feature cult-builders Janice Wong and Indra Kantono as they talk about how they built their brands to capture an avid following, as well as strategies they have taken as their businesses fight for survival during lockdown.

Janice Wong is the Founder of Singapore favourite 2am:Dessertbar, the Janice Wong brand, and a three-time World Gourmet Summit Awards Pastry Chef of the Year.

Indra Kantono is the Co-Founder of Jigger Pony Group, the winner of Asia’s Best Bar 2020.

OC27 is a joint project of e27 and Open Circles, a community of global leaders: visionary entrepreneurs, social innovators, investors, and creative pioneers. The Open Circles community has a common goal of mobiliSing action and solving global problems.

Each episode is in support of a chosen charity. Grab a virtual post-dinner drink with us and support the “6000 at-risk elderly fund” by Lion Befrienders, to provide essential items, customiSed programmes, and activities to the isolated elderly in Singapore during COVID-19.

By participating in the web talk show, you will not only be learning from the best and the brightest veterans in the business today, but you will also be contributing valuable help to a worthy cause. Sign up here to save your slot.

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Mobile-based marketplace Carousell launches property platform in Hong Kong

Singapore-based mobile marketplace Carousell announced that it has launched a property listing platform Carousell Property in Hong Kong, partnering one of the city’s biggest realtors Midland Realty. According to a report by Forbes, it aims to provide listings of local and overseas residential and industrial properties for sale and rent through its Carousell mobile application.

Carousell Property offers services such as Home Services that include home repairs, moving, renovation; Home & Furniture that include furniture and gardening, and Kitchen and Appliances; as well as a chatroom to connect to merchants directly.

Carousell also partners with moving company Going Moving and coworking company Metro Workshop for its property platform.

Fund management firm Helicap Investment appoints Aura Group to sub-manage fund

Helicap Investments, a fund management company in Singapore, has appointed fellow fund management company Aura Group as a sub-manager to a fund that it manages. Aura itself is a Registered Fund Management Company in Singapore.

HIPL utilises the proprietary credit analysis technology of its parent company, Helicap Pte Ltd (Helicap), to assess and have an understanding of the alternative lending sector. The alternative lending sector provides a low correlation to other traditional asset classes to investors and promotes access to sustainable debt financing for underbanked and unbanked borrowers in the region.

Also Read: Singapore-based lending platform Helicap raises US$5M to go to Indonesia

With the partnership, Aura will draw on its expertise in the credit sector in both Singapore and Australia.

India-based fintech startup HomeCapital receives seed funding from Varanium NexGen, others

Mumbai-operated fintech startup HomeCapital has secured seed funding from Varanium NexGen Fund.

Venture Catalysts, JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation, Singapore Angel Network, Venture Gurukool, and Shalin Shah also participated in the funding round.

According to a report by Money Control, the company said it plans to expand its operations and scale up the technology infrastructure with the new funding.

HomeCapital focusses on helping millennial homebuyers in getting a half of the initial cost of their down payment at zero interest. The loan then can be repaid over the next one to two years.

Ziliqa launches social media initiatives to support Red Cross’s COVID-19 relief efforts

Singapore crypto startup Zilliqa has launched a social media initiative as a way of giving back to the local community and to support Singapore Red Cross’s COVID-19 relief efforts islandwide.

Using Twitter, Zilliqa will be rewarding users who tweet about its #ZILCovidHeroes campaign with 25 $ZIL, the platform’s native cryptocurrency. For every 25 $ZIL sent to a user, Zilliqa will match this amount with a donation to the Singapore Red Cross.

Users will also be able to donate directly to Singapore Red Cross in Singapore dollars, with local residents and corporates eligible for a 2.5 per cent tax deduction. The campaign will be running from Tuesday, May 26 to Thursday, May 28 at 8PM SGT.

Also Read: Fintech platform Xfers pilots Ziliqa-powered stablecoin StraitsX, to build a transparent ecosystem

As part of the campaign, Zilliqa is also working with NextID, a Singapore-based, worldwide blockchain-powered certificate issuance service that allows users to send a personalised Certificate of Appreciation to their own COVID hero. This certificate will be permanently stored and secured on blockchain and leverages the Singapore Government’s OpenCerts format for Verifiable Credentials.

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Image Credit: Carousell

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Adjust: E-commerce apps are beginning to recover from global health crisis

Adjust, a  global app marketing platform, has released a new report that shows that e-commerce apps are beginning to recover since early April, with installs and in-app sessions growing.

In comparison to March, 43 per cent of users have already returned to their favourite e-commerce apps, with paid apps increasing in installs from March to April.

Despite the e-commerce industry being shellshocked by the global health crisis, according to the data, e-commerce companies have a high chance of returning back to normal.

Also Read: GoBear grabs US$17M in funding to accelerate its financial services across Asia

“The reason is that many consumers expect behavioural changes in others and less in themselves. They criticise someone flying halfway around the world just to attend a business meeting but are already anticipating taking a flight for their next vacation. So, we can probably expect quite a high degree of bounce-back in terms of consumer behaviour,” commented Sven Arn, CEO of Happy Thinking People.

India’s Ola acquires Dutch startup Etergo to launch an electric two-wheeler

Ride-hailing company based in India, Ola, has announced the acquisition of Amsterdam-based startup Etergo to launch a premium two-wheeler electric vehicle in 2021, according to YourStory.

Through the acquisition, the startup is betting on a cleaner and more efficient solution for urban mobility post-COVID-19.

“Ola Electric aims to launch its global electric two-wheeler in India in 2021. This acquisition will further bolster Ola Electric’s strong engineering and design capabilities with the Etergo team’s extensive vehicle development experience with leading automotive companies like Tesla, General Motors, Ferrari, Jaguar, and BMW. Etergo’s team will continue to be based out of Amsterdam as they join Ola Electric,” the company wrote in the statement.

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Image Credit: Unsplash

 

 

 

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Singapore-based AI-empowered data platform Sentient.io has received a Series A funding led by Japanese digital media Digital Garage Group, together with a corporate VC firm of TV station Asahi Broadcasting Group Holdings Corporation, ABC Dream Ventures.

Joining the round are deep tech accelerator Leave a Nest Group.

The company said it intends to use the new fund to scale the platform to the global market, especially to fulfil the surging demand for the Digital Transformation from Japanese corporations.

Also Read: Here are the top startups in the Singapore AI scene, plus some observations from an investor perspective

Sentient.io offers a built AI and Data Platform which seeks to empower software developers to pick from its pre-trained AI microservices that can help them to create smart applications which are powered by AI and for big data owners, like telcos, manufacturers, government, and mass media companies to generate the new values from their data asset.

Christopher Yeo, Founder and CEO of Sentient.io, said: “Sentient.io will continue to raise funds from the international financial markets to enable us to expand our talent in research, sales, and engineering with a strategic focus on developing businesses in the Urban Living, Digital Economy, and Next Generation Wellness industries as an AI service provider.”

Yeo also added that the company plans to expand into Indonesia and the U.S.

Sentient.io is backed by the national technology research institution in Singapore, A*STAR and the global technology venture capital, BEENEXT.

To-date, the Company has raised more than US$5 million investment since its inception in May 2017.
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Picture Credit: Unsplash.com/@shanerounce

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