The buy now, pay later (BNPL) sector has seen a recent resurgence in activity, with new players entering the market and investment pouring in. In Southeast Asia, BNPL payments are projected to reach US$232.5 billion in 2024. Adding to this momentum, Philippine BNPL provider BillEase has secured a US$5 million investment from Saison Investment Management […]

Joba Network, a Web3 startup headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, has secured an investment from Decima Fund, a Web3 investment firm based in Japan. The funding round also saw participation from a group of angel investors. The exact amount of the investment remains undisclosed. The investment is intended to support Joba Network’s change of traditional work […]

Bridgewise, an AI-based platform for analyzing global securities, has concluded a $21 million funding round led by SIX Group, with additional support from Group11, L4 Venture Builder, and other major financial institutions. This funding round brings Bridgewise’s total raised capital to $35 million. With its recent establishment of the Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore and […]

Japanese fintech leader SmartPay has secured $7 million in a pre-Series A funding round, oversubscribed and led by SMBC Venture Capital. Other participants in the round include Japanese venture capital firm Angel Bridge, European venture capital firm Global Founders Capital, and American venture capital firm Matrix Partners. Smartpay, one of the leading fintech startups in […]

Indonesian InsurTech firm Qoala has completed its Series C funding round, securing $47 million in investment. PayPal Ventures, PayPal’s corporate venture arm, backed Qoala with the investment. PayPal Ventures and MassMutual Ventures co-led the funding, with participation from MUFG Innovation Partners, Ohana Holdings, and existing investors such as Flourish Ventures, Eurazeo, and AppWorks.  Qoala’s recent […]

Indonesian fintech startup Wagely has secured $23 million in funding. The latest funding round, a combination of equity and debt financing, was led by Capria Ventures, a venture capital firm specializing in applied Generative AI. Existing investors also participated, along with a contribution from a private debt fund.  Wagely, known for its earned wage access […]

Singaporean fintech enabler Fluid has successfully raised $5.2 million in Series A funding, spearheaded by Insignia Ventures Partners. The funding aims to strengthen Fluid’s business-to-business purchase financing solutions. Fluid Series A round, led by Insignia Ventures Partners, is vital for the Singapore-based startup, known for its flexible B2B purchase financing platform. This latest investment follows […]

Singapore-based UnoAsia, the parent company of Uno Digital Bank in the Philippines, has completed a pre-Series B funding round, securing $32.1 million in investment. The funding, comprising equity and debt, was led by Gateway Partners, Creador Private Equity, and Nextinfinity Management. With this latest round, UnoAsia has raised approximately $75 million.  This funding injection will […]

Japan, for many non-Japanese entrepreneurs, is a wonderful market but with many barriers. A different language. A culture very different from that of the Western world. A conservative and slow decision-making process in corporations. These all seem to signal that change is not welcome here. That might not be the case, actually. Fintech start-up Habitto […]

At the Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) on November 16, 2023. MYbank, a leading internet bank in China and an associate of Ant Group, showcased digital solutions with the goal of improving accessibility to financial services for small and micro-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the agricultural sector. The showcased solutions included Tomtit for rural finance, Goose for […]