Hong Kong’s PE-backed Oriente raises $50m

Cloud-based website development platform Wix.com and a number of undisclosed investors also contributed. Oriente raised $105 million in a seed-funding round in 2018 from a group of family offices.

Founded in 2017, Oriente runs two apps – Cashalo in the Philippines and Finmas in Indonesia – that seek to help consumers and small businesses access digital financing solutions. It says it offers real-time credit scoring, digital credit, consumer finance, point-of-sale lending, and working capital financing for micro-entrepreneurs. The company has more than 1,600 employees across Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Oriente says it registered more than four million new users last year and delivered more than a 20% increase in sales volume for merchant partners. The start-up plans to use the fresh capital to continue growth in existing markets and enter new markets in Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam. It sees significant financial credit opportunities in the near-term due to the region-wide economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This investment, which comes during a time of significant global economic turmoil, puts us in a strong position as we look to step up our efforts in a highly competitive sector. Southeast Asia’s vastly underserved merchant consumer ecosystem has tremendous economic potential, and we are excited to power a more capable financial services infrastructure that is purpose-built to unlock this,” said Geoffrey Prentice, co-founder of Oriente.

Last month, Oriente said it also obtained access to a $20 million debt funding facility from Silverhorn Group, a Hong Kong-based multi-asset investment firm. Oriente is also backed by BlackPine Private Equity, a Hong Kong-based firm.

Digital financing solutions for consumers and small businesses is an active VC investment area in Southeast Asia. Other start-ups in this space include KoinWorks, Voyager, Funding Societies, and Julo. Earlier in the year, two Singapore-based GPs backed a Philippines rollout by Tonik Financial, which claims to be the first digital-only bank in Southeast Asia.  

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Expansion
• Technology
• Fintech
• Hong Kong (China)
• BlackPine Private Equity Partners