Experian Invests $28M In FinTech Lender C88

C88 Financial Technologies (C88) announced that it has received an over-subscribed $28 million in a Series C investment from Experian.

Other investors in the round include responsAbility Investments, DEG, InterVest, FengHe Fund Management, Pelago Capital and Fuchsia Venture Capital, as well as existing investors Monk’s Hill Ventures, Telstra Ventures, Kickstart Ventures and Kejora Ventures.

C88 operates Indonesia’s CekAja.com and Philippines’s eCompareMo.com — both are their respective country’s top financial marketplaces. C88 is also opening a third marketplace in Thailand. As part of the investment, Experian software and decisioning solutions will be embedded into the CekAja.com and eCompareMo.com financial marketplaces, and within its large partner distribution network.

“In Southeast Asia, as little as 48 percent of more than 600 million people have access to a bank account,” said Ben Elliott, Chief Executive Officer of Asia-Pacific at Experian, in a press release. “Exclusion from the traditional banking system makes it almost impossible for individuals and businesses to borrow or save money, significant barriers [toward] social and economic progress. Experian has been working closely with financial institutions and startups across Asia, including C88, to progress this. Together, we are building an ecosystem in countries where traditional data is not readily available and, in the process, making important leaps [toward] empowering consumers with enhanced financial access. We are delighted with this partnership, as this demonstrates our further commitment to Indonesia and the Asia-Pacific region as a whole.”

Singapore-headquartered C88 is one of Southeast Asia’s largest and fastest growing FinTech companies. As licensed financial marketplaces for consumers and small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), CekAja.com and eCompareMo.com have served over 50 million consumers since 2013.

“We are immensely proud to have closed one of the largest Series C FinTech rounds in Southeast Asia, particularly from investors who share our vision of empowering consumers and driving financial inclusion in the region,” said John Patrick Ellis, co-founder and CEO of C88. “There are over 350 million consumers in Indonesia and Philippines alone. We’re confident that we can drive a positive impact in our societies and communities by unlocking previously inaccessible financial products and services.”