VCs back Filipino fintech start-up

Other participants in the round included 500 Startups, IMJ Investment Partners, Key Capital and Deep Blue VC. The investment also featured an undisclosed sum of debt funding. The capital will be used to build out the company’s data analytics platform.

First Circle develops software that facilitates small business lending through the digitization of time-consuming procedures associated with brick-and-mortar banking. The combined use of traditional and automated processes is expected to improve the speed and cost-effectiveness of a regional expansion effort starting in the Philippines.

"Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises account for more than 99% of Filipino businesses, but often can't get the funding they need to grow and thrive," Michael Schlein, CEO and president of Accion, said in a statement. "First Circle can help these businesses and their employees by providing the financing they need – and ultimately developing a more inclusive financial sector."

The Philippines is projected to experience a surge in financial services demand in the next five years as the country's young consumer market transitions into an older demographic that makes more big-ticket purchases. Remittance payments, meanwhile, have accelerated in step with mobile technology proliferation and accounted for 10% of the country’s GDP in 2015, according to the World Bank.

Previous activity in this space includes Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company acquiring a 10% stake in German incubator Rocket Internet to pursue development of mobile payment and remittance platforms. Domestic digital payment players with VC backing include Kalibrr, which has received seed and follow-up funding from Manila-based Kickstart Ventures, and Ayannah, which has been invested by several GPs including 500 Startups and IMJ. 

Last year, Accion led a $5 million round for Coins, a US-based company focused on expanding its remittance and bill payment services in the Philippines. The investment was made from Accion’s Frontier Inclusion Fund, which closed last month with $141 million in contributions.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Financials
• Technology
• Early-stage
• Philippines
• seed
• Financial Services
• 500 Startups