Turochas “T” Fuad
Pace Enterprise, a ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) startup owned by Spacemob founder Turochas “T” Fuad, has secured an ‘eight-figure USD’ debt financing round led by Genesis Alternative Ventures.
The Singapore-headquartered fintech startup will use the cash to grow its business in Southeast Asia.
This big deal comes fresh off a “seven-figure seed funding” round co-led by Vertex Ventures and Alpha JWC at the time of its official launch in January. Since then, Pace claims to have registered a 1,300 per cent growth in user base and 200 per cent growth in merchant partners.
Also Read: Debunking BNPL myths: Is it going to be the primary mode of payment?
In addition to this, Pace has announced that it has inked an exclusive regional partnership with luxury goods and retail specialist Valiram.
Through this partnership, Valiram’s brands in the region will offer Pace’s BNPL solution to all its customers, allowing them to split their purchases over three interest-free instalments.
The collaboration will extend Pace as an alternative payment option to over 20 international brands represented by Valiram in the region, including consumer brands such as Michael Kors, TUMI, Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, Steve Madden, as well as Nike in Thailand and Pedro in Malaysia.
Payment via Pace will be available upon checkout across all points-of-sale, including websites, mobile apps, and over 200 points-of-sale in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Macau.
“Through this partnership, the brands under our group will be able to unlock a new segment of consumers. With Pace’s simple, accessible and transparent interface which gives users control over their budgeting and expenditure, we also hope to empower our customers to practice sustainable spending,” said Mukesh Valiram, Executive Director of Valiram.
Beyond Valiram, Pace has also secured multiple local and regional merchant partnerships, with brands such as ALDO, Miniso, Swee Lee, OG, Benjamin Barker, and Motherswork. Pace is also expanding its existing partnerships with OSIM, FJ Benjamin, and Wonderscape group.
“Our aim is to change the way consumers in Asia Pacific shop. With over 900 points-of-sale and over 550 per cent growth in gross merchandise value (GMV) since January, we’re encouraged by the exponential growth we’re experiencing,” said CEO Fuad said.
Also Read: Buy now, pay later: The changing face of finance for a mobile generation
The BNPL industry in Asia has witnessed massive growth over the past 18 months with the change in consumer behaviour following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Singapore itself, there are a few startups, which include Rely and Hoolah.
Rely is probably the pioneer in the segment, which in December 2020 secured US$74.8 million credit facility from Polaris, the strategic partnerships arm of Singapore-based Goldbell Financial Services. Hoolah, which is also making inroads into the market, raised an 8-figure sum in Series A round, led by Allectus Capital, in March last year.
Who is T Fuad?
A well-known face in Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem, Fuad has previously launched and sold three startups. His first startup was WUF Networks, an Internet of things software company based out of Silicon Valley. The company was acquired by Yahoo! in 2005.
Fuad was also CEO and founder of travelmob, an online marketplace for vacation rentals. Headquartered in Singapore, travelmob was acquired by HomeAway (now part of Expedia) in mid-2013.
In 2016, the serial entrepreneur established and ran Spacemob in 2016. He was appointed as Managing Director of WeWork Southeast Asia and Korea after the Spacemob acquisition.
In between his startups, Fuad was Managing Director for Skype Asia Pacific, responsible for its business expansion across Japan, China, Australia, Taiwan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia.
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Image Credit: Pace Enterprise
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