Philippine financial technology (fintech) startup Plentina announced securing $2.2 million in Seed funding to help accelerate the adoption of its buy now, pay later instalment loans platform.
The funding round was co-led by former Tableau executive and ClearGraph CEO Andrew Vigneault, Unpopular Ventures, and DV Collectives. JG Digital Equity Ventures, Amino Capital, Canaan Partners Scout Fund, Ignite Impact Fund, and other strategic angels and family offices also participated in the funding round.
The startup, co-founded by Kevin Gabayan and Earl Valencia, previously raised a pre-seed round of $750,000,000 last year from investors including Techstars, Emergent Ventures, and 500 Startups Vietnam Fund.
Plentina was launched in the Philippines in October 2020, focusing on buy now, pay later instalment loans that people can use and repay through e-wallets. The startup uses machine learning tools to gauge the creditworthiness of loan applicants.
The Plentina app has been downloaded more than 30,000 times. The company said it will use the seed round to onboard more merchant partners in the Philippines before expanding in Southeast Asia and other regions. Currently, its merchant partners include 7-Eleven Philippines and major telecom provider Smart Communications.
PH cloud kitchen startup Kraver’s Canteen raises $1.5m
Kraver’s Canteen, a cloud kitchen startup in the Philippines, has announced raising $1.5 million in a seed funding round led by venture capital firm Foxmont Capital Partners.
The funding round also saw participation from local industry leaders including JG Summit chairman Lance Gokongwei; Grab Philippines co-founder Brian Cu; Zalora CEO and co-founder Paulo Campos III; Century Pacific chairman Christopher Po, and Rico’s Lechon president George Pua.
Launched in 2020 by co-founders Eric Dee, Victor Lim, and Victor Mapua, Kraver’s Canteen builds cloud kitchens in the Philippines, with each site having the capacity to serve anywhere from 10 to 30 brand concepts. It works with established brick-and-mortar brands that want to grow their online sales. The current brands under Kraver’s Canteen include Tiger Sugar, Yogost, and Tonkatsu Maisen.
The funding comes as the Philippines cloud kitchen ecosystem remains underdeveloped, where existing players are more focused on selling food than developing the ecosystem. Moreover, there are still no major players outside of the National Capital Region, Kraver’s Canteen said in a statement.
Vietnamese electric motorbike startup Dat Bike bags $2.6m
Vietnam-based electric motorbike startup Dat Bike raised $2.6 million in a pre-Series A funding round, led by Singapore-based venture capital firm Jungle Ventures, to scale its operations.
The round also saw the participation of Wavemaker Partners, Hustle Fund, and iSeed Ventures, according to an announcement.
The startup, co-founded in 2018 by entrepreneur Son Nguyen, who left his engineering job in Silicon Valley, aims to drive the mass adoption of green transportation in Vietnam.
Dat Bike claims to offer one of the most powerful electric motorbikes in Vietnam with a 5,000W motor that can help accelerate from 0 to 50 km/h in just 3 seconds. Its flagship model, Weaver, is also the first and only electric motorbike in the Vietnam market that can rival gas bikes in power and range.
SOUTHEAST ASIA DEAL MONITOR
DealStreetAsia has also put together a table listing out prominent venture capital transactions in Southeast Asia in the week beginning April 12.
