Through a merger of two companies, the fintech group targets the needs and aspirations of emerging middle class consumers.
In a move to offer affordable and accessible digital financial services to the growing middle class in South Asia and Southeast Asia, Philippines-based digital financial services provider Ayannah, and India-based payments company Equity Capital Advisors Pte Ltd have announced a merger that will create Ayannah Global, a Pan-Asian financial technology group.
The new entity will be headquartered in Singapore, and will serve over 10 million customers through mobile apps and a growing network of over 60,000 retail touchpoints in Southeast Asia and South Asia.
This merger comes on the back of growing demand for tech-first financial solutions in Asia. The merged entity will have an enlarged omnichannel open banking platform, through which customers can access a wide suite of digital financial services including remittances, payments, insurance, loans and eventually, savings and investment products.
The Group already has a rapidly growing remittance and payment business in India and the Philippines, and it has also launched a digital marketplace connecting middle class customers and SME entrepreneurs with banks, lenders and insurers in the Philippines. Future launches are expected in India, Indonesia and Vietnam later this year.
Post-merger, they will be launching their Series B fundraising round, targeting USD$30m to $50m to support expansion plans, talent acquisition, and strategic partnerships. To date, the Group has received capital from venture capital firms Wavemaker Partners, Golden Gate Ventures, and 500 StartUps, as well as several large family offices across Asia.
Said Praveen Suri, Co-Chief Executive Officer for Ayannah Global: “There are over 500 million consumers in Southeast Asia and South Asia that are part of the emerging middle class today. With increasing disposable income levels, it is critical for these consumers to have access to basic financial services, and plan for the future. Widespread smartphone usage across our target markets provides a ripe landscape for a financial inclusion revolution, while the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the demand for at-your-fingertips financial services.”
Suri said the Ayannah Global will provide “an open-banking platform that improves financial literacy, empowers micro-savings and gradually enables financial freedom for these communities.”
