Funding Remittance

Tencent Co-Founder Backs Singaporean Fintech Startup to the Tune of SG$2.7 Mil

Koku is a foreign exchange fintech that is based in Singapore. And it just raised US$2 million (approximately SG$2.7 million) in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Jason Zeng, co-founder of Tencent Holdings.

Jason is also the founder of China-based angel investment company, Decent Capital, which now finances Koku. The funding will be used by the Singaporean fintech for further development of its product, and regional expansion into other Southeast Asian markets.

Koku works with non-bank financial intermediaries like remittance service and liquidity providers by providing foreign exchange (FX) technology solutions that allows them to then offer cheaper and quicker remittance services. Koku currently works with partners in Singapore, Hong Kong and Philippines.

Koku’s plans to grow its star child, the FX TechUP suite, which should soon onboard deep technologies such as AI and machine learning in a bid to strengthen the company’s FX offering.

Koku will also utilise the funds over the next 6 months to grow its team, attempt to increase transaction volume of US$10 million per day to US$30 million, and potentially enter markets like Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia and Cambodia.

According to a World Bank report, remittances to the East Asia and Pacific region are expected to grow 4.2 percent in 2019, which is the market that Koku has its eyes on. Beyond this Pre-Series A round, Koku has aspirations towards raising US$10 million in Series A funding later this year.

Chris Cao, Vice President of Decent Capital’s Angel Investment Department said:

“Koku is the first company in Singapore that our founder Jason Zeng has invested in since co-founding Tencent. We’re confident that KOKU’s technology will bring significant improvements to the business offerings for their partners.”

Featured image via Koku