Plentina, a Philippines-based Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) startup, said it has raised $2.2 million in the latest funding round led by TMV, a New York-based venture capital firm that invests in purposeful startups reimagining the future.
Meanwhile, Global Founders Capital and existing investors AV Ventures, Techstars, Unpopular Ventures, and prominent Southeast Asian family offices also joined the round.
Since its inception, Plentina has secured a total of $5.7 million in funding, among the largest fundraising accomplishments achieved by a Filipino-led team focused on serving the Philippine market.
Plentina said in a statement that proceeds of the funding will be used to accelerate the company’s growth in the Philippines, to offer new product expansions, and to begin exploring other markets in Southeast Asia, such as Vietnam.
This seed round will also help propel its growth as it targets Series A funding next year with senior talent joining the firm between now and then, it added.
“We’re thrilled to have the cooperation of our customers, merchant partners, and investors that see the benefits and opportunities of having true accessible financial services in emerging markets. As Filipinos, we are especially proud of the programs we are bringing to the region” said Kevin Gabayan, Founder of Plentina.
Plentina Co-Founder Earl Valencia also said: “We are so pleased to be partnering with truly value-aligned investors like TMV, Global Founders Capital, and to have the continued support from our existing investor base. This funding will help accelerate our growth on the ground while we eye opportunities across Southeast Asia.”
Plentina offers BNPL and other data-driven financial services to emerging markets exclusively, beginning with the Philippines, where has a population above 100 million people but below 5 percent have access to credit cards.
Plentina began in 2019 by Stanford classmates Kevin Gabayan, an ex-Google and NASA machine learning engineer, and Earl Valencia, a former tech and finance executive in both the Philippines and in Silicon Valley.
In 2021, Plentina increased initial app downloads by 500 percent, growing from 30,000 members to over 150,000 on Android alone. According to the statement, Plentina’s iOS app is slated to launch early next year to cater to strong local demand.
Plentina’s top merchants in the offline and online retail space now include Lazada, Zalora, Shopee, Agoda.com, McDonald’s, Philippine Airlines, and National Bookstore, in addition to launch partners 7-Eleven Philippines and Smart Communications. Plentina said there is a waitlist of 20+ partners waiting to onboard to the platform.
“Kevin and Earl are precisely the entrepreneurs we look to back as investors. They have the domain discipline to be focused on this audacious opportunity, the tenacity to see it through to success. We are enthusiastically partnering with them to bring robust financial services to the Philippines and beyond,” said Soraya Darabi, Founder and General Partner at TMV.
Featured image credit: Plentina