Voyager Innovations Raises $210M, Becomes Unicorn

Voyager Innovations, the owner of FinTech PayMaya and neobank Maya Bank, has achieved unicorn status after raising $210 million, according to a Monday (April 11) news release.

The Philippines-based company is now valued at $1.4 billion following the funding round, which was led by SIG Venture Capital, per the release. The funding surpasses the $200 million the company was rumored to be aiming for earlier this year.

See also: Voyager Innovations Could Look to Raise as Much as $200M

The company says it will use the funds to launch new services for Maya Bank, such as savings and credit, while expanding PayMaya’s offering with products like cryptocurrency, micro-investments, and insurance.

“Our strong record of execution and innovation is a testament to our world-class team’s hard work and talent,” said Orlando B. Vea, Voyager and PayMaya CEO and founder. “With this milestone, we are excited to leap forward and bring the best of PayMaya and Maya Bank to help unlock the digital economy for the underserved and unbanked Filipinos.”

Voyager notes that the Philippines is Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing market, with digital adoption of services spiking during the pandemic, “driven by the demands of a young, digital-savvy population.”

Citing figures from the 2021 e-Conomy Southeast Asia Report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, Voyager said the country’s internet economy rose 94% between 2020 and 2021 and is expected to reach $40 billion by 2025, fueled by growth in eCommerce and strong adoption of e-wallet payments.

Still, half the adult population o the country is unbanked, and roughly 47% of Filipino adults do not have savings, and of those with savings, one in two save via informal means. Only a third of adults have loans, of which a just 18% were made through banks.

Read more: Voyager Nabs $167M, Prepares To Launch Digital Bank in the Philippines

Voyager Innovations had raised $167 million in venture funding in June 2021 from parent company PLDT, Chinese tech giant Tencent, private equity firm KKR & Co. and IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund. That followed previous funding rounds in April 2020 — for $120 million — and a round in 2018 that took in $215 million.