PayPal participates in India’s microfinance company Tala’s $110 million Series D financing; Colombia’s first unicorn Rappi launches new B2B delivery service “RappiEntrega”; Wal-Mart promotes Flipkart grocery distribution business or joins Tata
Southeast Asia
Google Indonesian executive Henky Prihatna resigned and joined the Singapore private equity firm Northstar Group. It is reported that Prihatna’s latest title in Google Indonesia is “national director, the next billion users.” In addition, Northstar’s investments include Gojek and Topica. According to reports, the company is managing $2 billion in capital and plans to invest in growth companies in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries.
East Venture leads a $4 million financing from Indonesian agricultural technology startup Kedai Sayurs. According to KrASIA, Kedai Sayur raised $1.3 million in financing led by East Ventures in May this year. It is reported that Kedai Sayurs was established this year to link small traders and vegetable farmers through the application process, simplifying the long process of vegetable procurement and distribution. Vendors can select items online and then pick up items at the nearest pick-up station. Kedai Sayurs said the newly raised funds will be used to attract more vegetable vendors and retailers to become their partners, and to further improve the source of goods and supplier networks.
India
PayPal participates in the $110 million D-round financing of Tala, a microfinance company. According to KrASIA, in addition to PayPal, the round of financing includes the participation of investors such as GGV Capital and IVP. In addition to this round of financing, Tala has raised $100 million in debt financing over the past few years. It is reported that Tala is a microfinance company that aims to provide users with fast, small loans through mobile APP. The company’s current market is mainly distributed in Kenya, Tanzania, the Philippines and Mexico. According to the company, 85% of its customers can get loans within 10 minutes, and the loan amount is generally between $10 and $500. The average repayment period is 30 days and the interest is charged 11-15%. To date, Tala has provided more than $1 billion in loans to more than 4 million customers. In addition, Tala will use the $110 million raised this time to develop its new insurance financial products and expand its markets in India, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Wal-Mart or a strategic partnership with the Tata Group of India to promote Flipkart’s growth in the grocery distribution business. According to KrASIA, Wal-Mart is seeking a partnership with the Tata Group to reach out to local merchants through its distribution network. It is reported that Flipkart first launched the “Nearby” brand in October 2015, entered the grocery field and closed in four months. At the end of 2017, it launched the brand “Supermart” to re-enter the field, but only for employees. After being acquired by Wal-Mart last year, it opened the service to the public.
Transmitted Xiaomi will carry out loan services in India. According to Reuters, Xiaomi will launch a micro-credit service in India to provide users with loans of up to Rs. 100,000, with a minimum interest rate of 1.8%, which is scheduled to be launched in the coming weeks. A spokesperson for Xiaomi said that Xiaomi Credit is currently in the “test phase” and declined to give details.
Amazon will launch the online grocery store “Amazon Fresh” in India on August 23, with a promise of 2 hours delivery. According to DealStreetAsia, customers can select more than 5,000 foods such as fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meat, and personal care and home care products from Amazon.in’s Amazon Fresh store. The selected item will be received within 2 hours. It is reported that Amazon’s grocery distribution platform Prime Now will also support the plan.
Pawan Munjal, chairman of Hero MotoCorp, India’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, will invest in Ola Electric. According to DealStreetAsia, after investing in Ola Electric at Ratan Tata, Pawan Munjal may become the next major investor. It is reported that Ola Electric was established in February 2017, and Softbank, Tiger Global and Matrix Partners India are also investors. Earlier in July, Ola Electric became a unicorn after receiving $250 million in funding from Softbank. In addition, Ola plans to launch 1 million electric vehicles in India, and Hero’s electric two-wheelers may be used in the future.
In the second quarter of India, the number of investment transactions in the financial technology industry surpassed China, raising about $350 million. According to the latest industry analysis report disclosed by CB Insights, there were 23 investment transactions in the Indian financial technology industry in the second quarter of this year, and in the same period, the number of investment transactions in China’s financial technology industry was only 15. Start-ups in the Indian financial technology industry raised about $350 million in the second quarter, and in the same period, China received $25 million more than India.
Middle East
MEVP leads the 6.6 million US A round of financing for Nana Direct, the Saudi online grocery platform. According to MenaBytes, Nana Direct was formed in 2016 to leverage its platform technology to connect grocery customers, in-store pickers, supermarkets and the last mile delivery fleet. In addition, Nana Direct now serves customers in 13 cities across the country, including Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Al Khobar. It is reported that in addition to competing with the online grocery platform Zad Fresh (the company has served in 22 cities), Nana Direct has to compete with some large supermarkets that are preparing for online services.
Latin America
Columbia’s first unicorn Rappi launched the new B2B delivery service “RappiEntrega”. According to Contxto, RappiEntrega aims to provide goods delivery services for SMEs and e-commerce companies. The service promises to deliver within 45 minutes and allows users to choose the delivery time. In addition, RappiEntrega will be launched first in Chile, not at home in Colombia, or in Mexico and Brazil with its main markets. It is reported that the company’s applications in Latin America have downloaded more than 2 million apps and are seeking growth.
文 | 云晞@出海
编 | Zhao Xiaochun@出海
Figure | Unsplash
