On Friday, Asian fintech, AsiaCollect, announced it raised $4.5 million to date after closing its recent investment round led by global technology investment firm SIG Asia Investments. Founded in 2015, AsiaCollect describes itself as a pioneer in providing integrated Credit Management Services (CMS) in Southeast Asia. The company reported it focused on the $40 billion growth opportunity in non-performing consumer loans and delivers maximum CMS efficiency for its clients through an integrated product offering, which includes CMS Outsourcing, Debt Purchasing, CMS Advisory Services, and Software-As-A-Service (SaaS).
“AsiaCollect ensures that every debt solution reaches an optimal outcome for debtor as well as creditor, and operates on a world-class Code of Ethics, backed by a stringent set of operational risk control processes. Headquartered in Singapore, the company is active in Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. “
AsiaCollect also noted that it was seeded and developed by FORUM, which is a fintech venture building in Emerging Asia, and Fintonia Group, an early-stage fintech investor in Southeast Asia. Speaking about the funding milestone, Tomasz Borowski, chief executive officer and co-founder of AsiaCollect, stated:
“We are thrilled to have SIG on board as they have a unique track record of picking winners in financial services. As we move into the purchasing segment of the value chain, we are increasingly attracting significant investor interest, both from an equity and debt standpoint. Moreover, investors view the debt collections business as a classic counter-cyclical play, which is becoming increasingly important as we move into what looks like the peak of this cycle.
“Over the medium to long-term, purchasing NPL portfolios off banks’ balance sheets is likely to be a major driver of revenue growth for AsiaCollect. We have already purchased our first portfolio from a large financial institution in Vietnam, and we are focused on executing on many more such transactions going forward. We are supported by a highly experienced data science team in Ukraine who brings with them strong knowledge and expertise in pricing portfolios through business cycles. We will continue to leverage this and differentiate ourselves in a market where there is a dearth of professional debt collectors and purchasers and that is dominated by fly-by-night operators.”
AsiaCollect added it will use the new funds to support growth initiatives, including client acquisition in its core markets, enhancements to its SaaS solution, expansion of its collections’ infrastructure and teams, and to continue purchasing NPL portfolios.