UPDATE 1-Fintech Voyager raises $210 mln to become 2nd Philippine 'unicorn'

* Voyager gets to be 2nd “unicorn” in the Philippines

* Enlargement program includes electronic financial institution, cryptocurrency (Provides company opinions, depth)

By Neil Jerome Morales

MANILA, April 12 (Reuters) – Philippine technologies startup Voyager Improvements said on Tuesday it has raised $210 million in its newest funding spherical, making the firm the country’s 2nd “unicorn” with a valuation of a lot more than $1 billion.

Voyager fintech startup raises $210M, becomes the second unicorn in the Philippines

Voyager, which serves 47 million folks as a result of its purchaser platforms that include e-wallet and digital payments, stated the fresh new capital will fund its electronic banking undertaking and other expert services like cryptocurrency and micro-investments.

SIG Venture Funds, the Asian enterprise funds arm of SIG, Singapore-dependent world trader EDBI, and financial commitment keeping organization First Pacific Enterprise Ltd, participated in the funding round as new buyers, Voyager explained.

Voyager’s present shareholders like PLDT, personal fairness agency KKR & Co Inc, China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd and Intercontinental Finance Corp (IFC) also joined the cash injection.

The most current funding increased the valuation of Voyager to $1.4 billion, it said. In June, Voyager elevated $167 million for its enlargement programme, bringing in a unit of the Earth Bank Group’s IFC as a new investor.

Voyager’s rival, Mynt, is the only other Philippine unicorn, or startups that have arrived at at minimum $1 billion in valuation. Mynt is partly owned by Globe Telecom, Bow Wave and Ant Fiscal, the fiscal know-how arm of Alibaba.

The Philippines is amongst the speediest-increasing fintech marketplaces in Southeast Asia, with adoption of electronic products and services surging all through the pandemic. Its online economic climate grew 93% to $17 billion in 2021, and is envisioned to broaden to $40 billion by 2025, in accordance to a report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Co.

(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales Enhancing by Ed Davies)