Has the Southeast Asian startup ecosystem ever witnessed a quarter more exciting than the current one?
We entered the second quarter with Grab’s blockbuster SPAC listing. Valuing the super-app at US$40 billion and being the largest SPAC deal to date, it placed Southeast Asia into the global spotlight.
As the dust settled on news of the region’s first tech listing in the US since Sea Group, Gojek and Tokopedia thrust the ecosystem back into the spotlight by officially announcing they were merging to form GoTo Group.
While financial details regarding the combined entity were not disclosed, the press statement noted Gojek and Tokopedia will continue operating as separate entities.
Stripe, a global technology company that builds economic infrastructure for the internet, today announced a partnership with GrabPay, the leading digital wallet in Southeast Asia (SEA).
In Q1 2021, Singaporean fintech companies raised a staggering S$656 million in equity funding, a 355% increase compared to the same period last year, data from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) show.
Fintech Funding: Singapore based Fintechs Secured Nearly Half A Billion Dollars in Q1 2020
May 23, 2021 @ 8:47 pm By Omar Faridi
Fintech businesses in Singapore have secured a total of SGD 656 million (appr. $492.8 million) in equity funding during Q1 2021. This figure represents a 355% increase from last year, according to a recent report from the
Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
The rise in Fintech investments was mainly due to Grab Financial Group’s massive SGD 417M (or $313.2M) Series A round in January 2021. The company said it would use the funds raised to further enhance its digital financial services.
Other major Fintech funding rounds from this year include Indonesia-based agent-focused Fintech firm Payfazz’s $30 million investment in Xfers, a Singaporean payment processing platform, and Fintech Endowus’ SGD 23 million ($17.3 million) Series A round.