Asia fintech player GoBear raises $80m

Operating in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore, GoBear provides a platform through which consumers can search and compare a wide range of financial products from local and regional institutions. The company’s partners include Allianz, Citibank, FWD Insurance, and other banks and insurance providers, and it claims to have served more than 40 million customers across Southeast Asia.

GoBear was launched in 2015 as a joint venture between Aegon, a multinational financial services player with interests in life insurance, pensions, and asset management, and Walvis Participaties, the VC arm of Dutch asset management firm Walvis Group. It will use the new capital to improve its technology platform and expand its management and technical talent.

“We are also very interested in partnering with and investing in other technology companies that have developed exciting new technologies that will enhance our ecosystem and our ability to improve people’s financial health,” said GoBear CEO Adrian Chng in a statement. “Specific areas include customer onboarding and fulfillment solutions, personal financial management, alternative credit scoring, financial education, and investment platforms.”

Financial technology is seen as a key opportunity for investors in Asia’s emerging markets, since large population segments still lack access to traditional banking services. Companies typically attempt to capture these consumers through smart phones, which provide affordable, convenient internet access, as well as proprietary software that can assess credit risk without the personal documents that their customers often lack.

Fintech-focused investors include Flourish Ventures, which spun out from Omidyar Network last year and has made several commitments in Asia, and Apis Partners, currently targeting $400 million for its second fund. Thailand’s Kasikornbank also operates a VC unit that has backed a number of financial services players across Southeast Asia including Singapore’s InstaRem and ride-hailing and payments player Grab.

Walvis has more than EUR60 million ($67 million) in assets under management across three funds, primarily invested in the Netherlands. The firm invests in growth stage technology companies with annual revenue of at least EUR1 million or monthly recurring revenue of EUR80,000, with a focus on the e-commerce, enterprise software, fintech, healthcare, and internet of things.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Financials
• Technology
• Consumer
• Expansion
• TMT
• Financial Services
• Growth capital