Grab Financial Group raises USD300 million in Series A funding round

By Edil Corneille

Grab Financial Group (GFG), a FinTech platform Southeast Asia (SEA), announced the raise of over US$300 million in its Series A funding round. The round was led by Hanwha Asset Management, an asset management company in South Korea. Other investors in the round were K3 Ventures, GGV Capital, Arbor Ventures, and Flourish Ventures.

The Series A financing marks the next step in GFG’s growth as its total revenues increased by over 40% in 2020 vs 2019. Grab Financial Group’s AutoInvest, a retail wealth management product, has shown strong consumer adoption with the nearly doubling of monthly users in December 2020. GFG’s insurance distribution also continued growing, quadrupling its monthly active users to over 4.5 million in three months, and distributing over 70 million insurance policies to date since launching last April. Adding to this momentum, the Grab-Singtel consortium was recently selected by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to set up a full digital bank.

GFG, which today offers payments and financial services across lending, insurance and retail wealth management in the region, will use the new funds to continue helping more individuals and SMEs access the benefits of financial services. It will do so by further investing in talent, and expanding its offerings in SEA with more affordable, convenient and transparent financial solutions.

Reuben Lai, Senior Managing Director, Grab Financial Group said, “We are at an inflection point in Southeast Asia, as the pandemic has accelerated the need for digital financial services that help us grow and protect our incomes. We are delighted to draw upon the expertise of top investors who know financial services and fintech well, so that we can continue to build and open up access to affordable and transparent financial services for millions of underserved people and small businesses, and make inroads into financial inclusion in the region.”

Yong Hyun Kim, CEO of Hanwha Asset Management said, “We expect GFG to continue its exponential growth on the back of an innovative business model which supports the changing broader lifestyle of consumers, as well as its highly synergistic relationship with Grab, the largest Southeast Asian unicorn. At the same time, we are particularly pleased to invest in a company that is fulfilling the socially responsible role as an enabler of financial services to the underbanked and unbanked population in Southeast Asia. We are very excited to be leading the Series A round for GFG as part of Hanwha’s expertise and interest in the fintech space and our ongoing investment into the sector.”

In a region where over 70 per cent of the adult population is still underbanked, and millions of SMEs still need crucial funding, GFG aims to help bridge these unmet needs and close the financial inclusion gap. With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing even more people and businesses online, GFG mentioned that it is well-positioned to further support millions of Southeast Asians with its suite of digital financial services.