A growth spurt
- 500-backed FinAccel announced it will be going public in the United States through a merger with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings II. The latter is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by Chicago-based Victory Park Capital Advisors (VPC). The combined companies are valued at US$2.5 billion.
- FinAccel is the parent company of Indonesian fintech startup Kredivo. It claims to be the largest and fastest-growing ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) platform in Indonesia. To date, it has nearly 4 million approved customers and a presence across eight of the top 10 e-commerce merchants in Indonesia. The startup plans to expand into regional markets such as Vietnam and Thailand in the near future.
- The deal will include private investments in public equity (PIPE) of US$120 million from multiple investors. Existing backers Naver Corp. and Square Peg Capital have agreed to invest US$55 million of equity.
- FinAccel CEO Akshay Garg said that the deal gives the startup “the firepower to build a large, diversified, digital financial services business in Southeast Asia.” He added, “Considering that 66% of Southeast Asia’s population is unbanked or under-banked, we also see a very attractive opportunity to serve these customers with other financial services, outside of credit.”
- According to a joint statement, the merger is expected to close no later than the first quarter of 2022.
- Read the full story on Bloomberg here.
At lightning speed
- 500-backed fintech startup Impact Credit Solutions (ICS) announced a partnership with Google Cloud and software company Thought Machine. Together, they have launched technology that enables banks and fintech firms to make faster credit decisions for millions of small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Southeast Asia.
- Typically, banks view SME lending as high risk. In comes ICS’ digital credit platform, making the process easier through automation and analytics.
- “It is common for SMEs to wait two to three weeks for banks to decide on loan applications,” said Jonathan Austin, Chief Technology Officer at ICS. “However, when a borrower applies for a loan through a fintech or digital platform that we support, we can predict the default risk and deliver a loan recommendation in milliseconds.”
- “One notable example is helping pharmacies get loans faster to meet the unprecedented demand for medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.
- Read the full case study on Google Cloud here.
The right to choose
- 500-backed digital health startup mClinica has partnered with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and various other organizations to engage pharmacies in Southeast Asia to expand their contraceptive choices.
- The startup leveraged its app, SwipeRx, to educate pharmacists about the benefits, side effects, contraindications, ethical considerations, and counseling techniques using modules accredited by Pharmacy Associations. Pharmacists in Cambodia who completed this module reported 20% more knowledge in contraceptives.
- mClinica also sought to raise awareness among pharmacists about the various options for contraceptives and train them on client-centered contraceptive choice. Within 3 weeks, almost 45,000 professionals were exposed to educational digital posters and interactive quizzes.
- In Cambodia, pharmacists had access to the eReferral tool on the app to refer clients to other pharmacies in the event that they are unable to provide the contraceptive method of the client’s choice.
- Read the full report on mClinica here.
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500 Startups is a venture capital firm on a mission to discover and back the world’s most talented entrepreneurs, help them create successful companies at scale, and build thriving global ecosystems. In Southeast Asia, 500 Startups invests through the pioneering 500 Durians family of funds. The 500 Durians funds have backed over 200 companies across multiple sectors from internet to consumer to deep technology. It continues to connect founders with capital, expertise and powerful regional and global networks to help them succeed.
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