Singapore-based PE fund Emerging Markets Investment Advisers led this Series B round in Myanmar-based reality-tech startup ShweProperty

ShweProperty.com, one of Myanmar’s leading property portals, has secured US$3 million in its Series B round of funding. led by Singapore-based private equity fund Emerging Markets Investment Advisers (EMIA).

Other participants in the round include 500 Startups; Simon Baker, former Chairman of iProperty and Mitula Group; family office of Dinh Thi Hoa, Chairwoman of Galaxy Media & Entertainment Vietnam; and existing investor Stockholm-based Vostok New Ventures and a UK-based investment fund.

This is US-based 500 Startups’s maiden investment in Myanmar.

“The latest round of funding will be used to accelerate all areas of our business operations, sales and marketing, product development, and includes our advanced transaction model that streamlines the home buying process for consumers,” said Kevin Goos, MD of Shwe Property.

This is ShweProperty’s third round of funding. In 2017, it secured an undisclosed investment from Gilles Blanchard, Co-founder of French property site Seloger.com. This was preceded by a Series A round in February the same year.

Also Read: How the son of a humble watch repairer became the owner of a multi-million dollar realty tech startup

ShweProperty was started by Justin Sway (CEO), who was born in Myanmar before his family migrated to Australia when he was four years old. With over 20 years of business experience under his belt, he started the portal in 2011. It was a bold move back then because internet was still unavailable in the country since the market was not opened up. A mobile SIM card cost over US$500 in those years, making it unaffordable for the common man.

Currently led by Goos, Sway, and Kaung Thu Win (Founder and Director), ShweProperty connects property buyers, renters, and sellers. The company claims it has over 100,000 active listings and 750,000 monthly visits. It claims ShweProperty is working with all top property developers and real estate agents across the nation. At the moment, it has 1,200 registered agents and 500 developers, Sway told e27.

ShweProperty is pitted against iMyanmarHouse.com, which was started by Nay Min Thu in late 2013. In an interview with e27 last October, Thu said that it had over 550 developer partners, 2,200 agents, and 300,000 property listings from across the country. During its journey, iMyanmarHouse has also raised multi-million dollars in funding from Frontier Digital Ventures, an ASX-listed VC firm.

Commenting on the new funding, Trent Eddy, Chief Investment Officer for EMIA, said: “We were impressed by one of the strongest management teams in IT technology we’ve seen, and their great strength in online real estate portals is reflected in their market leadership and high-quality shareholder base.”

Besides ShweProperty, Sway is also co-founder of Myanmar-based jobs portal JobNet, which raised an undisclosed 7-figure funding in a Series A round in 2017.

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Image Credit: ShweProperty

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