HOMA Sdn Bhd (HOMA2U), a Malaysian marketplace for renovation and interior design materials, announced Tuesday that it secured $875,000 in its pre-series A funding.
HOMA2U said in a statement that the investment round was led by Quest Ventures Asia Fund II, an early-stage venture capital fund managed by Quest Ventures Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based venture capital firm.
This is Quest Ventures Asia Fund II’s second cheque for HOMA2U.
The investment round also includes Worldwide Management Solutions and Qhazanah Sabah Berhad (QSB), the strategic investment arm of the Sabah state government.
According to the statement, the funds will fuel HOMA2U’s regional expansion plans to capitalize on a fast-growing market, accelerate product development and expand its market capitalization value, all while striving to promote a circular economy within the renovation and interior design industry.
The investment will also be used to support HOMA2U with its growth acceleration and scaling plans to realize its goal of becoming an MYR100 million ($22.42 million) annual revenue-generating company before 2025.
HOMA2U will also channel the funds to help more people amplify their commitment to environmental, social and governance (ESG) sustainability as well as help them meet their ESG goals through their Yellow Boxes and online platform.
HOMA2U is working towards growing the business threefold and will be concentrating its efforts on opening a total of 18 Yellow Boxes throughout Malaysia and Singapore.
Touted as Malaysia’s first unmanned interior product showrooms, the Yellow Boxes are mobile pop-up outlets that offer offline-to-online purchase services for visitors.
HOMA2U is looking to establish the first Yellow Box in Singapore as early as Q32023.
Pennie Lim, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of HOMA2U, said the fresh funding is a positive sign of health for HOMA2U – considering the wider context of economic pessimism that the property market is currently experiencing.
According to her, this investment will be part of HOMA2U’s push to ensure added value and elevated convenience for customers as they renovate their homes.
“We know that customers want renovation solutions that are seamless and engaging, with everything available under one roof,” she said.
She also said the funding will enable the firm to deliver on its plans to make high-quality, affordable and sustainable home interiors with renovation products easily accessible to all, essentially contributing to a total solution and wholesome experience for them.
“At HOMA2U, we do not just stop there. We also help our customers meet their ESG sustainable goals and practices from a design and aesthetic point as well as from the impact of the renovation materials on our environment,” she added.
HOMA2U now has 20 team members working on business development, customer service and marketing.
“Sustainability is ingrained into the work that we do and the solutions we offer. We champion reducing, reusing and repurposing,” said James Yeoh, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of HOMA2U.
According to him, this strategy includes acquiring building materials and interior finishing products from unused renovation materials, discarded materials and ageing stocks from merchant brands that are refurbished.
“This gives our customers a worry-free approach to sustainable renovation,
“This investment will allow us to tap a wider market, enabling us to make our footprint in Singapore and create environmental impact regionally,” he added.
Meanwhile, the participating investment companies strongly believe that this synergistic partnership will further fortify HOMA2U’s strengths in revolutionizing an archaic industry and an untapped market with vast potential.
The funds will also reinforce Singapore’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint and support its ESG sustainability goals.
The construction and renovation industry is quickly adopting circular economy concepts that emphasize sustainability standards and optimal usage of natural resources.
By integrating environmentally friendly practices and social responsibility into their business offerings, HOMA2U hopes to set new standards in design and sustainability, helping more individuals and businesses bolster strategies to achieve net zero carbon emission targets.
“The building, construction and renovation industries have traditionally been characterized as oligopolistic markets, making them near-impenetrable,
“HOMA2U has innovatively broken the market entry barriers and levelled the playing field using digital capabilities and data interoperability as ammunition,” said Jeffrey Seah, Asia Fund Partner at Quest Ventures.
According to hi, this has enabled them to offer their solutions to the masses around the clock, creating impact at every turn.
“This is the very fabric of the digital economy we espouse at Asia Fund II which is encapsulated as digital disruption without leaving anyone behind,” he added.
Earlier in 2021, HOMA2U secured a series of funding amounting to MYR2.4 million ($567,000) from Warisan Quantum Management as well as ScaleUp Malaysia with investment partner, Quest Ventures Pte Ltd where HOMA2U emerged as one of the top 10 startups in the ScaleUp Malaysia’s Accelerator programme Cohort 2.
Malaysia home finishing product marketplace HOMA2U bags $567K funding