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The partnership will provide funding to e-commerce merchants and help turn local businesses into global playersSINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 23 May 2022 - Choco Up, a global technology and financial services platform offering revenue-based financing and growth solutions for digital merchants and startups, today announced its strategic partnership with Shoplazza, a global leading e-commerce Software as a Service (SaaS) platform. Together, their collaboration will provide quick and accessible business growth funding for Shoplazza's direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands, helping businesses to overcome financing challenges commonly encountered by e-commerce merchants. The first-ever growth funding partner of Shoplazza, Choco Up's embedded revenue-based financing solution with a proprietary AI-driven underwriting model will offer funding through the Shoplazza platform in just a few clicks. This will enable more than 360,000 merchants to grow in gross merchandise value (GMV) through inventory purchases, marketing expenditures, and new market expansions across the globe. E-commerce merchants often face operational and geographical challenges as they expand A significant pain point faced by many e-commerce merchants is their heavy reliance on third-party marketplaces such as Amazon and Lazada. These platforms pocket commission fees as high as 45% per transaction, putting pressure on sellers' razor-thin margins. As a result, many e-commerce merchants have adopted the DTC business model, which offers higher margins, more flexibility and a greater Return-On-Investment (ROI). However, this also requires business owners to invest in their website and online store, which can incur substantial costs. Shoplazza empowers merchants by providing all the tools they need to create their online store, freeing them from third-party marketplace platforms and allowing them to grow their DTC brands globally and independently. Its integrated platform helps businesses manage their online stores, including web infrastructure, product sourcing, enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer operations, etc. On top of software-as-a-service, Shoplazza also provides merchants branding, marketing, and other e-commerce-adjacent support. Another key challenge facing e-commerce businesses is the substantial funding gap among merchants seeking to pivot to the DTC business model to expand and scale globally. E-commerce merchants are frequently unable to secure loans from banks due to a lack of assets with profiles perceived as higher risk. They cannot turn to private equity or venture capital, which tend to prefer investing in disruptive tech sectors - leaving many digital merchants in the cold. The success rate of securing private equity funding can be as low as 0.7%. Choco Up provides quick and easy growth funding to e-commerce merchants without requiring collateral, equity, or fixed terms. For Shoplazza's DTC e-commerce merchants, there is no need to fill out lengthy applications or go through extensive credit checks to access growth capital. With its proprietary AI and machine learning technology, Choco Up can quickly and reliably conduct the risk assessment for merchants and is able to offer funding in as soon as 48 hours. As opposed to traditional financing methods, Choco Up's revenue-sharing model - the first of its kind in Asia - allows merchants to easily get growth funding and repay flexibly by sharing a small proportion of their monthly revenue during repayment. Merchants no longer need to worry about overdue payments due to unstable cash flows and are provided with the flexibility and protection against business growth and expansion risks. By extending credit to e-commerce businesses and supporting merchants in their pursuit of global ambitions, Choco Up bridges the gap between e-commerce businesses and growth capital. "A synergistic convergence of two of Asia's leading tech companies, this embedded financing product partnership between Choco Up and Shoplazza will revolutionize e-commerce funding at scale. Together, the two platforms will provide merchants access to quick and easy business funding to monetize growth opportunities in the dynamic e-commerce landscape and a comprehensive suite of digital-commerce-related support," said Brian Tsang, Choco Up's co-founder and COO. "Teaming up with Shoplazza also enables us to help yet more local businesses expand beyond borders whilst furthering our mission to increase financial inclusion for companies of all sizes and types." "Through this strategic partnership, Shoplazza will be able to broaden its range of e-commerce-adjacent support for merchants currently using its software and services. In addition, the funding provided by Choco Up can help many DTC merchants realize their global growth potential," said Jesse Huang, the VP of Shoplazza. About Choco UpChoco Up is a global technology and financial services platform, offering revenue-based financing and business growth solutions for digital merchants and startups. With data analytics and machine learning at its core, Choco Up employs vast integrations to automate fund deployment, providing fast-growing companies with zero-equity funding in a quick and seamless manner. We currently have offices in Singapore and Hong Kong and serve businesses worldwide, providing smart-growth analytics and global payment solutions to fuel their growth. For more information, visit: https://choco-up.com/. About Shoplazza Shoplazza is an award-winning shopping cart commerce technology company that provides differentiated value by offering technology that is easy to start, market and manage online stores of any size. The single integrated back-end platform powered by advanced data analytical capability is engineered for reliability, security and adaptivity, ensuring our merchants never miss a turn. Shoplazza champions merchants to not only build an online store but own their brand. The North America-based Direct-to-customer ("DTC") branding incubation team provides services covering the entire journey of buyers that helps merchants develop a direct relationship with the buyers and make their brand memorable and distinctive. For more information, visit: https://www.shoplazza.com/ #ChocoUp #Shoplazza The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
All-expenses paid program supports startups to do business in South Korea & AsiaSEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - Media OutReach - 20 May 2022 - South Korea's leading accelerator program K-Startup Grand Challenge (KSGC), considered 'a gateway' to do business in Asia, invites global startups to participate. The program's 2022 edition started accepting applications on April 15, and the last date for the application stage is May 31, 2022. K-Startup Grand Challenge is a great opportunity for global startups looking to explore Asia's markets for their innovative products and services. A thriving economy with the best ICT infrastructure and a highly adoptive tech-savvy consumer market makes South Korea an ideal place to begin the journey to doing a business. South Korea has a huge market potential with a domestic market size of about US$1.63 trillion. The Korean domestic market is the 10th biggest globally, with a strong purchasing power. South Korea is one of the safest countries in the world, boasting an extremely low crime rate. Furthermore, Korea has an established patent law system so that startups can safely bring their creative ideas under government protection. Reasons to begin a business in South Korea Gateway to Asia: South Korea is conveniently located in East Asia between China and Japan, with Hong Kong and Taiwan to its south. Seoul, its capital, is the world's second-largest metropolitan area, with almost half of all Korean citizens living in or around the city. World's best ICT Infrastructure: Korea has a highly developed ICT infrastructure, with 100% of its territory covered by LTE, and offers the world's fastest internet speed. All generations in Korea are avid users of high-tech devices with access to high-speed internet. Korean people are active social media users. 67.5% of online shopping is done through mobile applications. The spending per buyer in e-commerce is forecasted to go from $2,600 in 2019 to $4,300 in 2024. Test Bed Korea for the Global Market: Korea provides excellent opportunities to do consumer testing. Koreans are known to be early adopters of new technologies. They are eager to be the first to buy and the first to use newly released tech products. They have access to the latest technologies in various industries and take advantage of Korea's world-class IT infrastructure. Strong Government Support: The Korean government is constantly improving the country's infrastructure. In 2017, South Korea established the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to systematically oversee various startup support projects to reinforce momentum. In 2022, the government plans to implement a startup support project worth US$3 billion to create a regional startup infrastructure and allow innovative talents with technical skills to flow into Korea's startup ecosystem and develop their capabilities to succeed. Furthermore, the government plans to find 200 promising startups through 2022 and 1,000 promising startups, and 700 pre-unicorn startups by 2025. Thriving Startup Infrastructure: Korea is a country that has 18 unicorn startups. Its startup ecosystem is active and well designed, attracting the attention of investors, accelerators, and incubators worldwide. According to the Startup Genome Report 2021, Seoul jumped to 16th from 20th in the world startup ecosystem ranking, with an ecosystem valued at US$47.2 billion. Venture capital investments have also poured into Korean startups and grew 78% year-on-year in 2021, surpassing 7.7 trillion won (US$6.4 billion). The number of new jobs created by startups in 2021 surpassed the number of jobs created by the four largest conglomerates in Korea combined. In recent years, many major Korean companies have expressed interest in collaborating with startups from around the world. Strong Economy: Economically, South Korea has become the 10th largest economy and the fifth largest exporter of goods and services globally. Corporate giants Samsung and LG have become the top display makers worldwide. Hyundai and Kia combined are third in vehicle production numbers. And in July 2021, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) upgraded Korea's status to a developed economy. According to the Bloomberg Innovation Index, South Korea has topped the global list of the 60 most innovative countries in its latest rankings. Top Research & Manufacturing facilities: Korea topped the charts in patent activity and put up strong performances in R&D and manufacturing. South Korea invested almost US$83 billion in R&D last year, making it the fifth-largest spender among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In addition, the Startup Genome Report said South Korea was the fifth-highest investor in R&D with around $94.5 billion, and its ratio of R&D spending to GDP was the second-highest in the world at 4.3%. Furthermore, the ranking of Seoul jumped to 16th from 20th in the world startup ecosystem ranking in 2021. Korea's Cultural Influence: Korea is a cultural powerhouse with the Korean Wave, encompassing K-pop, dramas, fashion, cosmetics, and the arts. Its culture is one of the many reasons it has become a source of fascination for Asia, the Americas, and Europe. The Korean people also have major intangible assets like passion, creative ideas, and momentum that work well with cutting-edge ICT technology and inclusive governmental support. K-Startup Grand Challenge Program 2022 K-Startup Grand Challenge 2022 is a 3.5-month-long all-expenses-paid program held from August 1 to November 15, 2022, at the Startup Campus in Pangyo Techno Valley. KSGC 2022 is supported by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) and organized by the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA). Sixty startups will be selected to participate in the program. Each of the 60 teams will receive $11,136 to cover living expenses for the 3.5 months. For 2022, the top ten performing teams will get monetary grants worth $320,000. Also, the top thirty startups will get further assistance to expand business in Korea through a settlement program with a supporting fee of $11,136. The startup accelerator program, launched in 2016, supports foreign startups that want to enter the Korean market and further explore the international markets. Over the years, the program has supported startups and businesses that have succeeded in multiple fields globally like Artificial Intelligence, fintech, logistics, biotechnology, robotics, game development, IoT, e-commerce, etc. In the past, the participating startups have come from various countries across Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia. The ultimate goal of KSGC is to promote the expansion of open entrepreneurship in Asia and assist in South Korea's evolution as a prominent business hub in the region. Who can apply? Startups less than seven years old or Pre-entrepreneur whose representative holds a foreign nationality. Promising startups with a clear objective to expand into Asia by using the Korean market as a stepping stone. Timeline for KSGC 2022 Program The application process for global startups: April 15 to May 31, 2022 Review by a panel of judges & global audition for top 60 teams: June 20 to 24, 2022 Final 60 teams selection result announcement: June 30, 2022 Accelerator program to be held in South Korea: August 1 to November 15, 2022 Demo day where the top 10 teams will get prizes: November 9 -11, 2022 Further settlement program for top 30 teams: January 15 to June 30, 2023 Benefits for the startups participating in KSGC at a glance Networking and Expert support: Mentoring & information sessions, coaching on Korean and Asian business culture, and seminars on topics like patents, accounting regulations, tax laws, and more. Financial support: Living expenses worth $11,136 and further financial assistance for top performers. Additional Investments: The accelerators may make equity investments in promising startups. Startups may have access to other VCs and investors who may choose to invest. Break into Asia & Corporate Partnerships: The startups can meet Korea's top tech companies with expertise ranging from smartphones to semiconductors. Also, easy access to other Asian countries. Korean Intern Support: A Korean intern, fluent in English/Korean, will be provided for every two teams. The intern will be a great resource for you while doing business in Korea. Access to State-of-Art Resources: The teams get to stay and work at a global startup campus in Pangyo, strategically located in the south of Seoul. The startups get access to world-class prototyping, testing facilities, and expert support. Administrative support & Visa acquisition: NIPA and the team of the program make sure the visa process is smooth and timely. The startups will have access to administrative support, translation service, and interpretation to make work convenient and productive while in Korea. Korean Accelerators to assist startups' growth This year, five excellent Korean accelerators are waiting to assist foreign startups in growing in Korea - CNT Tech, Yozma Group Korea, Bigbang Angels, Pen Ventures, and Nautilus Investment. CNT Tech is a tech-based global accelerator that has been part of the KSGC program six years in a row. It has a reputation for actively investing in early-stage startups in Korea. CNT Tech invested in over 70 startups in 2021, which is the country's largest number of venture investments. Yozma Group Korea is a global accelerating and investment company specializing in the global accelerating and cross-border investment with more than $350 million in AUM. Yozma Group's Interest is in ICT technology-based startups in Digital twin, Mobility, and Digital Healthcare. It is looking forward to working with the visionary startups who want to explore Korean partnerships and beyond. Bigbang Angels is a Korean early-stage VC with Singapore headquarters. The VC has invested in over 100+ AI, deep tech portfolio companies for ten years, with four successful exit cases and 3 Pre-IPO in the portfolio. It is interested in investing in global startups with IP capable of technology transfer to Korea. PEN Ventures is a venture capital and accelerator with offices in Silicon Valley, Singapore, Europe, and South Korea. It invests in startups and connects them to all kinds of game players. The company successfully supports startups and entrepreneurs in Fintech, Cleantech, and Digital Health care to enter the Korean market. Nautilus Investment is a global accelerator and venture capital in Korea. It focuses on cross border connection between Korea and Silicon Valley-based on the strong partnership with Nautilus Venture Partners, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital. Nautilus Investment supports startups financially through venture investment and strategically through the close networks of Big Tech companies in the US and large and mid-size Korean companies. For further information and the application for K-Startup Grand Challenge, visit the website – https://www.k-startupgc.org/ and check the Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/kstartupgc) and the LinkedIn page (https://www.linkedin.com/company/kstartupgc) for more information and further updates.
HONG KONG, May 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- China Ping An Insurance Overseas (Holdings) Limited, the main offshore investment and asset management platform of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (2318.HK, 601318.SH), together with its subsidiaries ("PAOH"), is pleased to announce that, Ping An China New Economy Fund, LP (the "Fund") has achieved USD 300 million in capital commitments. Ping An China New Economy Fund is the only dedicated USD-denominated investment vehicle of Ping An focusing on growth-stage private equity investing in Greater China. The Fund will be managed by a seasoned investment team of high caliber, with diverse investment and business development experience in the Greater China region, as well as proven track record of outstanding investment performance. The Fund will primarily focus on sectors that benefit from China's economic transformation, and where PAOH has extensive experience and historical success. The Fund targets opportunities where it has advantaged angles of value-creation, which will enhance the abilities of PAOH in getting access to the most compelling investment opportunities, and also providing meaningful post-investment services to its invested companies. The breadth of the "Ping An ecosystem" should make PAOH a "partner of choice" of enterprises in its focused sectors. "We are in a highly tumultuous and challenging time unseen in many decades – the heightening geopolitical tension globally, raging inflation, and the pandemic yet to be tamed have all created a great amount of risk and uncertainties to investors," said Hoi Tung, Chairman and CEO of PAOH. "The successful formation of the Fund demonstrates our investors' strong vote of confidence on PAOH as a strategic partner to help them navigate the highly challenging investment environment today, as well as a trusted steward of capital to deliver compelling risk-adjusted return for their assets." "China's long-term growth potential remains intact – the expansion of middle-class population, strong push on innovation and productivity growth, and the nationwide emphasis on environmental sustainability are all logically essential to the continued prosperity of China. History tells us that the best and most innovative companies are created in tough times, and we believe many of the recent 'turns of events' will provide us with opportunities to partner with some of the highest quality enterprises over the investment period of the Fund," said Kaipin Kui, Deputy General Manager and Head of Private Equity at PAOH. About China Ping An Insurance Overseas (Holdings) Limited China Ping An Insurance Overseas (Holdings) Limited is a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (HKEX: 2318; SSE: 601318). We have strong offshore investment research and portfolio management capabilities and are committed to providing clients with a wide range of overseas investment products, asset management and consulting services. We offer capital markets investment services including open-/closed-end funds, ETFs and mandates in equity, fixed income, funds of hedge funds, and AI and quantitative investments, and alternative investment services including funds, co-investments and direct investments in global (mainly US and Europe) private equity, private debt, infrastructure and real estate.
The investment will enable Crowdz to expand its ability to bring accessible working capital to small businesses. Crowdz Blockchain Technology Crowdz Blockchain Technology CAMPBELL, Calif., May 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Small and mid-sized enterprise (SME) finance platform Crowdz has secured $10 million in investment, led by Citi and Global Cleantech Capital, with participation from Bold Capital Partners, TFX Capital, and Augment Ventures. Citi's investment was led by the Spread Products Investment Technologies (SPRINT) team, the strategic investing arm of the bank's industry-leading Global Spread Products division. Existing investor Global Cleantech Capital, a Netherlands-based growth venture capital firm, joined Citi in leading the round. Existing investors Bold Capital Partners, TFX Ventures, and Augment Ventures also participated, bringing Crowdz's total capital raised to $25.5 million. The capital will be used to fund Crowdz's global expansion to meet its target of providing 25,000 SMEs with over $1B in working capital in 2023. The current state of the supply chain cycle for SMEs is overwhelmingly defined by fragmentation and delays, inefficiencies which cost them over $3 trillion annually. Crowdz integrates with SMEs' accounting, payment processing, and banking systems to allow SMEs to get paid early at competitive rates. The innovative platform includes proprietary risk scoring that gives banks, financial institutions, and DeFi lenders access to attractive risk-adjusted, diversified returns, while helping to plug the SME finance gap. Crowdz and Citi plan to collaborate to give small and medium enterprises (SMEs) rapid and efficient access to the working capital needed to keep their businesses running. In addition, Citi and Crowdz intend to grow recurring revenue finance as an asset class, with a particular focus on SaaS businesses, and expand its ability to help SMEs unlock cash flow through receivable financing. Citi has a longstanding commitment to expanding access to capital and inclusive financial services. Through its $200 million Impact Fund, Citi deploys its own capital to make equity investments in "double bottom line" US-based private sector companies that are applying innovative solutions to help address some of society's most pressing challenges. Through their investment, Citi joins a growing list of high-profile corporate entities partnered with Crowdz, including Meta (formerly Facebook) and EG Funds Management. Meta has committed $100 million to financing diverse-owned businesses in the U.S. EG Funds, an Australian fund manager with $5.1 billion under management, is currently setting up a white label in the Asia Pacific. Additionally, a number of clients utilize a white-labelled iteration of the Crowdz platform to provide access to working capital for SMEs that impact and power everyday communities, from family-owned businesses to up-and-coming startups across the U.S. and Europe. Payson E. Johnston, CEO and co-founder of Crowdz, said: "Crowdz's planned collaboration with Citi, paired with this investment from our partners, including Global Cleantech Capital, signifies a new phase of growth for the company, which will allow us to expand working capital access for SMEs. We share Citi's view of recurring revenue as having the potential to become a new asset class, and Crowdz's technology—including a global receivables marketplace with risk scoring, white label for enterprises and banks, and creation of digital assets—will help enable additional investment in this area." Katya Chupryna, Director, Citi SPRINT, said: "While we have been extremely impressed with Crowdz's traction in the traditional invoice receivables financing space, we are particularly excited about the burgeoning asset class of SaaS receivables. Only a small fraction of the $170 billion in yearly SaaS revenues are currently represented in financial products, indicating a massive opportunity for expansion. Through accretive synergies between Crowdz's innovative technological solutions and Citi, the leading global bank, we see the potential to meaningfully develop SaaS receivables as an asset class." Sandeep Arora, Citi Institutional Clients Group's Head of Digital and Chief Investment Officer, added: "Citi and Crowdz are both focused on creating new opportunities for SME clients and improving client experiences. Crowdz has built an impressive digital approach to provide efficient access to working capital. Digitization creates momentum, new opportunities for clients, and ultimately, the best user experiences. We're excited to join this journey with Crowdz and support their continued growth." For more information, visit www.crowdz.io or read the full story on TechCrunch. - ENDS - About Crowdz: Crowdz is modernizing invoice financing and invoicing practices, particularly for small and midsize businesses, to revolutionize the $9 trillion worldwide receivables market. The platform offers an alternative financing solution for small businesses that often struggle to obtain traditional bank financing. Its technology enables small businesses to sell invoices to funders for financing, reducing cash flow bottlenecks and giving small businesses working capital to survive and thrive. Crowdz is headed by its co-founder and CEO, Payson E. Johnston, who served for 18 years as global B2B supply-chain Senior Manager for Cisco. Crowdz has raised $25.5 million in equity from investors including Bold Capital Partners, Barclays Bank, EGX, Augment Ventures, Global Cleantech Capital, Kx, TFX Capital, and Techstars Ventures. Crowdz's technologies are covered by three patents and multiple pending patents. About Citi Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @Citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://blog.citigroup.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi. About Global Cleantech Capital (GCC) Global Cleantech Capital (GCC) is a growth equity firm based in Amsterdam, investing to scale exceptional companies into new market leaders in the clean energy, mobility, smart cities, and fintech sectors in Europe and North America. Investing over $900 million, the GCC team has a track record of delivering attractive returns paired with ESG impact. GCC is domiciled in the Netherlands and registered with the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM). For more information, please visit our website at www.gccfund.com. ##### Media Contact: Stacey Kirsch, Media Relations Officer Phone: 310-488-4639 Email: pr@crowdz.io This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com.
Qoala raised US$ 65 million in Series B funding led by Eurazeo with participation from several existing investors including Flourish Ventures, KB Investment, MassMutual Ventures, MDI Ventures, SeedPlus and Sequoia Capital India. In addition, BRI Ventures, Daiwa PI Partners, Indogen Capital, Mandiri Capital Indonesia and Salt Ventures also joined the investment round as new investors. Qoala becomes Southeast Asia's fastest growing and first insurtech company with licenses and presence in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. JAKARTA, Indonesia, May 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Entering 2022, Indonesian insurtech startup Qoala, has successfully raised Series B funding of US$ 65 million. The company distributes retail insurance products to consumers for car, bike, home, and health through its omnichannel platform. Based in Indonesia, the platform has successfully expanded to Thailand and Malaysia in 2021, strengthening Qoala's commitment to make insurance accessible, easy to understand, and help consumers better with their claims. Left to right: Harshet Lunani (CEO and Founder of Qoala), Tommy Martin (COO and Co-founder of Qoala) Having grown 30 times since the Series A round in April 2020, Qoala is the fastest growing insurtech in SEA. Qoala has acquired over 50,000 insurance marketers and provides a platform supported by over 50 insurers for them to sell insurance from multiple insurers, while managing pre-sale and post-sale services. It also provides several innovative micro-insurance products through its partnerships with Traveloka, Redbus, DANA, JD.ID, Shopee, Kredivo and Investree among others. Qoala focuses on "retail insurance" which involves insurance for cars, bikes, homes, and health. "Qoala is the only insurtech with licenses in three markets in SEA and with this new round we are optimistic in sustaining our growth momentum. Our business in Thailand has also already grown by three times since we joined forces with FairDee in February 2021, which gives us confidence in our expansion capability," added Tommy Martin, Co-founder and COO of Qoala. Tara Reeves of Eurazeo, a European investment firm who led this round and previously funded WeFox, the largest insurtech in the world added, "Qoala stands out amongst the insurtech companies due to its diverse team which has been able to deliver rapid growth with promising unit economics despite the pandemic. With regional presence and fast growth forecasted for the region, we are excited to lead this round and join Qoala in its journey." Qoala sets itself apart through a superior tech stack. This enables them to offer industry-leading speed in policy issuance, instant pricing as well as an industry first - instant commissions to insurance marketers. These innovations not only solve very key issues for insurance marketers and consumers but also allow Qoala to acquire and service consumers at a lower cost, leading to superior unit economics. Global insurers like Sompo, AXA, and Chubb have also joined Qoala's platform due to their focus on retail customers so they can fasten insurance adoption while maintaining healthy loss ratios. Qoala has actively contributed to the upgrade of insurance literacy as it caters to the increased demand for insurance in Southeast Asia. "Qoala's readiness in accommodating insurance needs through convenience, tech innovations and its rapid annual business growth serve as solid grounds for investing in Qoala," says Markus Rahardja, Director of Investment of BRI Ventures. Eddi Danusaputro as CEO of Mandiri Capital Indonesia also added, "Through Qoala's continuous innovation, the insurance sector in Southeast Asia is expected to grow rapidly. Qoala has a great opportunity to scale through B2B schemes with various industries currently being accelerated, one of which is logistics, health, and tourism. We believe this fund can strengthen Qoala's position as a leading insurtech company in Southeast Asia that has a harmony of innovation and synergy with the Mandiri Group." The funding also demonstrates appreciation and trust from both Qoala's existing and new investors to continue its growth in the insurtech sector. "We will continue to invest towards scaling up Qoala's reach in our core markets and focus on enhancing our technology and product experience to greatly reduce the hurdles to accessing insurance that are today still very significant," said Harshet Lunani, Founder and CEO of Qoala. Furthermore, Qoala aims to add over 250 employees this year and in particular will look to further invest into technology and product. In parallel, Qoala also plans to grant employees with equity compensation and give them the right to acquire shares in the company to strengthen employee ownership in the company. "Since the initial funding, we have seen Qoala as a solution to the increasing public need for access to insurance today. It is hoped that through this funding, Qoala can continue to innovate and develop to provide insurance facilities for the people of Indonesia," said Kenneth Li from KB-MDI Centauri Fund. "Insurance penetration in Indonesia is currently only 2%, far behind the global average of 6%, with most consumers just beginning to understand the value of insurance and hence there is plenty of room for growth. Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia are amongst the top 10 fastest growing global markets for insurance in the next decade," added Harshet. About Qoala Qoala is a startup in the field of insurance technology with a mission to socialize insurance through a combination of new product development supported by machine learning-based claim processes. Qoala operates in three countries; Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand offering various insurance protections, ranging from health, motor vehicle, property, personal accident, and other needs that can be accessed quickly, easily, and transparently through the Qoala application or website.
CoverGo's Series A highlights the company's rapid growth and success, with annual recurring software revenue increasing more than 10x since January 2021. NEW YORK and SINGAPORE, May 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CoverGo, the leading global enterprise no-code SAAS insurance platform, today announced it has secured $15 million in Series A funding led by California-based SemperVirens VC with participation from US venture capital firms SixThirty, Tribeca Early Stage Partners and Fresco Capital. Strategic investors include pan-African insurance group Old Mutual, Asia-based insurance group Asia Financial Holdings, US-based XN Worldwide Insurance (part of the Henner Group) and Middle East and African insurance fund Noria Capital. Existing insurtech investors also participated in the oversubscribed round. Caribou Honig, general partner of SemperVirens, also known as the Godfather of Insurtech and founder of the world's largest insurtech conference InsureTech Connect, will also be taking a board observer seat as part of the investment. A growing number of P&C, health and life insurance companies and emerging insurtech companies have adopted CoverGo's platform to build and launch all types of insurance products within days, develop omni-channel distribution, streamline policy admin and automate claims processes. As a result, CoverGo's annual recurring revenue grew more than 10x since January 2021. CoverGo is already working with major insurance companies such as AXA, MSIG (MS&AD Insurance Group), Dai-ichi Life and Bank of China Group Insurance, and delivery partners such as Deloitte, Accenture, IBM and Synpulse in Asia, US, Canada, Latin America, Middle East and other markets across the globe. The new investment will help accelerate CoverGo's international expansion, develop its partner network with consulting companies and grow the sales and engineering teams in the US and Asia-Pacific to meet the increasing demand for the CoverGo platform. "There are only a handful of technologies that are significantly transforming the insurance industry, and no-code is clearly on the short list," said Caribou Honig. "As carriers lean into enabling innovation, CoverGo is uniquely positioned to accelerate their digital transformation and drive efficiencies across the insurance value chain. CoverGo's next-generation platform is providing carriers an unbeatable mix of speed to market, cost savings, and security to succeed both now and in the future. We are excited to support CoverGo on its growth journey and expansion in the US market." "Insurance companies realize now more than ever that custom IT development is too slow and costly while off-the-shelf software packages can't satisfy changing product requirements and customer needs. This is why we see fast growing demand worldwide for a truly configurable no-code platform allowing companies to be agile and stay relevant in the changing world," said Tomas Holub, CEO and Founder of CoverGo. "The new funding and unique mix of strategic insurance investors will help accelerate adoption of CoverGo by insurance companies globally." Learn more about why insurance companies are choosing CoverGo at covergo.com. About CoverGo CoverGo has developed the insurance industry's first out-of-the-box, modular, no-code insurance platform powered by over 500 open insurance APIs enabling insurance companies to transform digitally in the most flexible, scalable and cost-effective way. P&C, health and life insurance companies use CoverGo to build and launch all types of insurance products within days, develop omni-channel distribution, streamline policy admin and automate claims processes. To learn more, visit https://covergo.com. About SemperVirens VC SemperVirens is a leading US-based ecosystem-driven investment firm focused on companies in the workforce, healthcare, and financial technology markets. The firm has a network of executives, industry analysts, and distribution partners that serve as a proprietary platform for accessing, analyzing, and amplifying the most promising companies in its target sectors. Media Contact Julien HaussEmail: hello@covergo.com
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