Philippine BNPL startup raises another $2.2M to fuel growth, plans international expansion
Plenty of cash? Philippine fintech, Plentina, has just raised another $2.2M. It has now raised $5.7M since it was founded in 2019.
- Its last fundraise was a $2.2M seed round in April.
- Who cashed in? TMV, Global Founders Capital, AV Ventures, Techstars and Unpopular Ventures.
🚀 Plenty of growth
Plentina launched in 2020 as a BNPL app that helped people take small loans to pay for daily needs and earn credit.
- Apply for a BNPL loan on Plentina’s app in 5 minutes. (Only pay for a small 5% flat fee!)
- Get evaluated by Machine Learning models and receive your loan through Plentina’s e-wallet.
- Spend by purchasing from any of Plentina’s partners and earn credit that you can use to get larger loans.
It partnered with convenience store chains, telecommunications giants and outlets focused on food, educational supplies and groceries.
Why it works. The Philippines has over 100M people, but less than 5% have credit card access, and few have credit scores. Plus, loans are a tricky biz with tons of scams, so people aren’t into taking loans.
- Plentina’s app downloads skyrocketed by 500% and hit 150,000 users this year.
- Using Plentina’s BNPL for small loans to pay for necessities helps build trust and promote use because of small and easy repayments.
🤩 Getting an upgrade
Plentina now allows customers to pay within three months instead of requiring payment in 14 days. (Forget groceries! Buy airline tickets or go on a mini Lazada shopping spree.)
- With a 3-month payment period, this opens its users to cash out more $$$ on higher-value items.
- Its latest partners include e-commerce giants Lazada, Shopee and Zalora, and travel companies Agoda and Philippine Airlines.
In the works. Beyond BNPL, the startup is also looking to build more data-driven financial services.
✈️ International, baby!
Plentina’s focused on emerging markets. With its new $$$, it’s fast-tracking growth in the Philippines. Next, it’s going global in 2022, with its first foreign market being Vietnam.
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