PLDT’s Voyager has received ‘Unicorn Plus Status’

By RJ L Balinbin, Senior Reporter

VOYAGER Innovations, Inc. It said on Tuesday it had raised an additional $ 210 million in its latest round of funding, valued at about $ 1.4 billion in “Unicorn Plus Status”.

PLDT, Inc., the company’s main shareholder, told stock exchange Voyager that the new funds would be used to launch its Maya Bank service and offer new products such as cryptocurrency, micro-investment and insurance.

Maya Bank’s services, such as savings and credit, will be offered through the Pemaya platform, it added.

The investment round was led by new investor SIG Venture Capital, the Asian branch of Suskehanna International Group, LLP; Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co., Ltd. And Singapore-based global investor EDBI. PLDT is a unit of the first Pacific Ocean.

Current shareholders are PLDT, KKR, Tencent of China, International Finance Corp. (IFC) and two funds managed by IFC Asset Management Company also participated in the round.

Orlando B. Via, CEO and founder of Voyager and Pemaya, said in a statement, “With this milestone, we are excited to go ahead and unlock the best of Pemaya and Maya Bank and help unlock the digital economy for disadvantaged and bankless Filipinos.” .

PayMaya, which recently launched cryptocurrency through its e-wallet application, had more than 47 million users on its customer platforms by the end of March.

Voyager secures a digital banking license for Maya Bank in September. Pilot testing begins in March.

Shailesh Baidwan, president of Voyager and Pemaya, said the company plans to launch “more game-changing innovations” as it tackles the unpleasant demand for financial services in the country.

Regina Capital Development Corporation equity analyst Anna Koren M. Agravio said in a phone message that the fundraising round meant Voyager’s expansion plans were “in full swing”.

Voyager will “be able to tap more efficiently into the non-banking sector through Maya Bank,” he added.

Voyager Live Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. (Mynt), the mobile wallet company competes with the operator of GCash. However, Mynt is not planning to run a digital bank.

“Both Voyager and Mint have very aggressive expansion plans; they both want to use different aspects of the financial market. Cryptocurrency seems to be the talk of the town these days, so Voyager’s planned initiative will probably be beneficial in this scenario,” said Mrs. Agravio.

The key factor is that PayMaya will soon be able to make a profit, as GCash seems to be ahead in that direction, “he added.

“The more platforms you have, the more you stay ahead of the pack,” said Astro C., managing director of First Grade Finance, Inc. Del Castillo said in a phone interview

“As long as you stay ahead of the pack, you will eventually generate revenue,” he added.

PLDT shares fell 1.53% to close at P1,800 on Tuesday.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit subsidiary of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund, is Mediaquest Holdings, Inc. It has most of the partnerships The commercial world Through the Philippine Star Group, which controls it.