2022 has been a difficult yr for fintech startups as traders scaled again their funding, valuations plummeted and tech corporations had been compelled to endure large layoffs. However regardless of turbulent market situations and shrinking fintech funding exercise, a number of wealthtech gamers in Southeast Asia are waiting for 2023, managed to scale their companies towards all odds, develop to new geographies and safe fundraising this yr.
In the present day, we take a better have a look at prime 10 wealthtech firms from Southeast Asia that made notable strides in 2022, and in 2023, might be poised for better successes within the years to return.
Funding Societies (Singapore)
Based in 2015, Funding Societies is a digital financing platform for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that started off to finance creditworthy Singaporean small companies who couldn’t acquire conventional loans. Recognising the funding hole for lots of SMEs within the Southeast Asian area, Funding Societies gives short-term, fastened earnings financing choices for each small companies and sole proprietors.
The most important such platform of its type within the area, its profitable enterprise mannequin has seen it develop throughout Southeast Asia to supply debt reduction past Singapore to nations like Malaysia and Thailand. Coming off the again of the pandemic, Funding Societies Malaysia has already disbursed MYR1 billion in enterprise loans by way of over 17,000 financing offers, doubling its funding offers final in comparison with 2020.
And its Thai unit, Funding Societies Thailand, reached THB1 billion (US$27.8 million) in mortgage disbursements to SMEs within the nation for 2022 by November this yr. The corporate is seeking to aggressively develop its financing attain for newer enterprise fashions, focusing on to disburse over THB2 billion ($55.6 million) throughout the subsequent 12 months. Throughout the area, Funding Societies has already disbursed in extra of US2 billion to needy companies utilizing plenty of financing schemes and initiatives. The corporate raised US$294 million earlier this yr to gasoline enlargement plans together with into Vietnam, its fifth regional market.
Endowus (Singapore)
Based in 2017, Endowus is the primary wealthtech digital advisor within the Southeast Asia area that may span each personal wealth and public pension financial savings in 2023. The agency’s proprietary programs present data-driven wealth recommendation in setting up personalised options. Its portfolios are constructed on entry to institutional-quality monetary merchandise on the lowest price attainable.
Endowus introduced earlier this yr its Hong Kong enlargement plans, key administration hires, and licensing by the Securities and Futures Fee of Hong Kong (SFC). This was adopted in October by its acquisition of Carret Non-public, a Hong Kong-based multi-family workplace. The deal gave it a foothold within the extremely high-net-worth (UHNWI) wealth phase of shoppers and enlarged its belongings below advisory from round S$2 billion in August to US$4 billion.
ADDX (Singapore)
Since its inception in 2017, ADDX permits personal market investing by a regulated, community-driven platform. Buyers can commerce in personal equities, hedge funds, unicorns, and different personal market alternatives from the comfort of a cellular app, the place 60% of its funding subscriptions now happen.
Working globally, ADDX has raised someplace within the area of US$20 million in its newest funding spherical from new and present shareholders, with Korea’s largest banking group KB Monetary Group main this pre-Collection B funding spherical. That brings complete fairness in ADDX to round US$140 million, and the agency is relaying these funds in direction of rising ADDX Benefit, it’s wealth administration platform launched in 2022 to cater to personal banks, brokerages, and household places of work.
Non-public credit score and enterprise debt funds can now record on the ADDX exhange, together with funding car Innoven SEA Fund I that’s managed by a three way partnership (JV) between Temasek subsidiary, Seviora, and Singapore-headquartered United Abroad Financial institution (UOB). ADDX has grown its investor base by about 80 % year-on-year, and lately enabled its first reference to securities brokerage CGS-CIMB Singapore to allow its clientele to entry its personal market merchandise.
StashAway (Singapore)
Based in 2016, StashAway is a digital wealth administration platform that gives entry to globally-diversified portfolios. The corporate has designed optimum portfolios for each funding model, threat desire, and stage of life. Its expertise robotically rebalances and reoptimizes shoppers’ portfolios when the market or financial situations change.
StashAway is headquartered in Singapore, and operates in Malaysia, the Center East and North Africa (MENA), Thailand and Hong Kong. It launched within the UAE in Could. The corporate claims it manages belongings in extra of US$1 billion.
In September, StashAway secured an undisclosed quantity of recent funding that included a strategic funding from Hamilton Lane, a world funding supervisor. The corporate is claimed to be engaged on the launch of recent merchandise.
Hugosave (Singapore)
Based in 2019, Hugosave is a so-called “wealthcare” supplier, specializing in serving to prospects in getting wholesome spending and saving habits.
Hugosave’s providing features a digital account that assists people in spending much less by suggesting switching, substitution, and discount alternatives. The platform additionally helps customers to maintain monitor of monetary objectives, save and begin investing, by options like Roundups the place card transactions are rounded as much as the closest greenback and the surplus robotically saved; and Gold Vault, which permits prospects to spend money on the valuable steel.
Although based three years in the past, Hugosave launched its app simply final yr. Within the span of a yr, the corporate stated it has amassed greater than 40,000 prospects.
In July 2022, Hugosave secured a US$4 million pre-Collection A funding spherical which it stated it might use to strengthen its presence within the area, widen its choices and enhance the person journey. The spherical was closed just a few months after the startup gained a Main Fee Establishment (MPI) license from MAS.
Ajaib (Indonesia)
Based three years in the past, wealthtech platform Ajaib grew to become Indonesia’s latest unicorn in 2021 when it closed a US$153 million (roughly 2.1 trillion rupiah) Collection B funding spherical. This introduced the overall funding within the startup to be value US$243 million, and barely greater than what the agency had been valued at only one quarter earlier than that, indicating persevering with optimism in Indonesia’s budding wealthtech scene.
Confidence was excessive within the Collection B spherical with many returning traders together with SoftBank Ventures Asia, Ribbit Capital, Alpha JWC Ventures, Horizons Ventures, and Insignia Ventures. The spherical was led by DST International, which together with Ribbit Capital had been additionally principal traders in Robinhood, a platform with many related wealth administration options to Ajaib.
Ajaib the truth is was regularly in comparison with that famed platform, with many believing the comparability demonstrated Indonesia’s talents to harness next-generation expertise and understanding of world capital markets. Ajaib Group co-founder and CEO Anderson Sumarli stated the injection might be utilised to aggressively recruit prime expertise in addition to perform instructional campaigns to cement the brand new era of Indonesian traders for contemporary monetary companies.
Pluang (Indonesia)
Based in 2019, Pluang is an funding and micro-savings app that enables customers to take a position throughout a number of asset lessons, together with shares, cryptocurrencies, gold and mutual funds. The platform’s deep integrations with regional tremendous apps Gojek, Dana, Tokopedia, and Bukalapak present it with a novel aggressive benefit, and has helped it amass greater than 7.9 million customers.
The corporate says it has witnessed sturdy progress these previous couple of months, with month-to-month transacting customers hovering 22-fold between January 2020 and November 2021 and progress in customers with an energetic steadiness growing 28.5 occasions.
Pluang closed a US$55 million in a Collection B funding spherical in January 2022, which it stated it might use to additional construct out its expertise capabilities and develop its asset lessons. The corporate additionally plans to develop the supply of its app and companies all through key extra worldwide markets.
Finhay (Vietnam)
Based in 2022, Finhay is a licensed brokerage firm that runs a wealth administration platform designed to permit particular person traders to entry monetary merchandise digitally. The platform makes use of machine studying (ML) to determine and suggest investments for traders.
In Vietnam, Finhay claims greater than 2.7 million registered customers, making it the nation’s main digital funding platform. It stated progress was significantly sturdy in 2021 throughout which it gained 150% extra customers, buoyed by the discharge of 4 new merchandise: cash-wrapped accounts with CIMB, gold buying and selling, a 12-month saving product and inventory buying and selling.
Finhay raised US$25 million in a Collection B funding spherical in June, its solely disclosed funding. The corporate stated it might use the proceeds to spend money on strategic enterprise enlargement, expertise acquisition and expertise growth.
Along with its fundraise, Finhay additionally made its first acquisition this yr, snatching up safety brokerage Vina Securities to develop its ecosystem of funding merchandise.
Cash.Ph (Philippines)
Launched in 2014, Cash.Ph is a number one digital pockets supplier and cryptocurrency trade platform hosted within the Philippines. Its 16 million customers can purchase and promote quite a lot of cryptocurrencies and entry a variety of monetary companies by way of its cellular app.
Totally regulated by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Cash.Ph is the primary crypto-based firm in Asia to carry each Digital Forex and Digital Cash Issuer licenses from the central financial institution. The fintech participant was offered by Indonesian decacorn to the previous CFO of the Binance crypto trade, Wei Zhou, for almost US$200 million earlier this yr.
With its standing as a monetary blockchain innovator within the Philippines, Cash.Ph raised one other US$30 million in a series-C funding spherical earlier this yr, and this month it obtained an Superior Digital Fee and Monetary Companies (EPFS) license as the corporate strikes in direction of providing mainstream monetary merchandise. The corporate additionally confirmed off Cash Entry, its white-labelled resolution to allow third-party platforms to simply provide crypto companies, the primary to be seen from a wealthtech participant in Southeast Asia in 2023.
PitchIN (Malaysia)
Conceived a decade in the past in 2012, PitchIN is “the main regulated ECF platform in your complete Asia Pacific area”, in response to its founders. ECF is fairness crowdfunding, and PitchIN was one among solely two corporations chosen by the Securities Fee (SC) Malaysia to be an operator for the Preliminary Change Providing (IEO) platform that’s tasked with nurturing accountable innovation within the digital belongings area.
With an intention of turning into the distinguished digital fundraising and investments hub in Southeast Asia, the corporate might be in contrast to many wealthtech gamers in 2023, having already assisted at the very least 130 SMEs in Malaysia to fulfill their funding wants.
Since final yr, the corporate has raised US$1.34 million (RM5.5 million) from 322 traders and is poised to progressively provide extra fundraising and funding choices for SMEs each in Malaysia and all through the Southeast Asian area. The IEO platform appointment will allow PitchIN to supply digital belongings as an funding possibility for small companies, diversifying their fundraising potential.
