On Tuesday, Philippine fintech Mynt announced it had raised over $300 million from new and existing investors in the company’s largest-ever fundraising, pushing its valuation to more than $2 billion.
Mynt, which is backed by Jack Ma, is behind the country’s most popular fintech app GCash. Over the course of 2020, the number of GCash users has soared to 48 million, or nearly half of the country’s population. It also witnessed a tremendous increase in the number of merchants and social sellers, now totalling 3 million.
After gaining ground in financial services, with transactions expected to reach $60 billion, GCash is now building momentum in credit and insurance. Within the year, the firm intends to offer “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) products.
“This is further proof that our growth and achievements have not gone unnoticed. We have been able to continuously expand by introducing game-changing innovations while improving our profitability profile,” said Martha Sazon, President and CEO of Mynt.
The latest funding round for Mynt was led by Warburg Pincus and Insight Partners, both of which are based in the United States. Other investors included Itai Tsiddon, US VC Amplo Ventures, and existing shareholders Globe Telecom, conglomerate Ayala and Bow Wave Capital Management.
“We believe that GCash has created the most compelling product to reach the massively underserved market in the Philippines. Our investment in Mynt fits within our global thesis of increasing financial inclusion using digital tools,” said Deven Parekh, Managing Director at Insight Partners.
Ant Group, formerly known as Ant Financial and Alipay, did not participate in the funding round. Its 40% stake before this round will be diluted to 35%, along with Globe’s stake. Globe Senior Vice President Yolanda Crisanto said that the new investors will collectively hold 11%.
Warburg Pincus managing director Saurabh Agarwal said that Mynt is an important milestone in their continued commitment and strong belief in the Philippines’ long-term potential as one of the region’s fastest-growing digital economies.
“Together with the continued support of Mynt’s existing shareholders, we are confident of furthering Mynt’s market leadership and creating positive and transformative disruption in the Philippine financial services sector,” said Ernest Cu, Mynt chair and Globe CEO Ernest Cu.
Related article from 2017: Ant Financial and Ayala take minority stakes in Globe Telecom’s Mynt
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