Qupital Secures US$150 Million Round to Accelerate Global Expansion and B2B “Buy Now, Pay Later” Product

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 9 November 2021 – Asia’s leading financial technology platform Qupital
today announced it has raised US$150 million in a combination of Series
B equity funding and a receivables-backed securitization facility. The
equity funding will reinforce Qupital’s ambitions to scale its
cross-border e-commerce lending business into international markets and
further strengthen its technological capabilities, whilst the facility
will provide a lower cost of funding for Qupital to offer exclusive
products to its present and future clients.  

Qupital’s Co-Founder and President Andy Chan with Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Winston Wong (from left to right)

Qupital’s
ambition is to become the go-to digital financial institution for
e-commerce sellers trading across the globe in the New Economy.

The
securitization facility entered with global investment bank Citi,
supported by Integrated Alternative Credit Fund, marks the first
e-commerce merchant financing securitization in Asia. This coincides
with the closing of Qupital’s Series B round, led by the Greater Bay
Area Homeland Development Fund (GBA Homeland), with additional capital
injections from investors including the Innovation and Technology
Venture Fund (ITVF) of the Hong Kong SAR Government, MindWorks Capital,
Silverhorn and Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund.

Qupital
harnesses the power of sales data to streamline credit underwriting for
sellers on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, eBay, Lazada and Shopee,
offering a win-win solution to both sellers and investors. The platform
empowers creditworthy merchants that are traditionally underserved in
the commercial lending market, and hews out an alternative asset class
with attractive yield opportunities for both professional and
institutional investors. As of October 2021, Qupital has achieved over
US$500 million in loan advancement to some 7,000 merchants onboarded on
its digital platform, tracking an annualized gross merchandise value
(GMV) of over US$3 billion.

Series B round led by GBA Homeland Development Fund, joined by the ITVF of HKSAR Government

On
top of the Series B funding, Qupital’s strategic placement within the
GBA Homeland portfolio more importantly reflects the depth and breadth
of its integration into the GBA ecosystem. As a global-scale alliance
dedicated to promote the new economy in China’s GBA, GBA Homeland’s
established network serves as a springboard for Qupital to augment local
partnerships and on-the-ground knowledge to assist further expansion in
the GBA and Greater China. With China cross-border e-commerce
sustaining a 20% year-on-year growth, the rapid industry expansion
renders extra confidence for Qupital to grow its customer base beyond
its existing force which concentrates in Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

UK-based
Nordstar’s e-commerce focused fund joins the round as a new investor.
As a leading investment adviser focusing on international growth and
scaling, Nordstar will lend its network to broaden Qupital’s customer
base in Western markets and share the team’s expertise to expedite the
company’s global expansion.

The majority of funds raised
will be used to accelerate Qupital’s core lending business to support
e-commerce sellers. As part of its five-year plan, the company is set to
tap into its abundant network and grow its “buy now, pay later” product
model to build an all-encompassing marketplace tailored for B2B
transactions. It will assign resources to enhance its R&D
capabilities in terms of artificial intelligence, big-data technology
and MLOps. The company also has plans to extend its footprint across
mainland China, as well as international markets including Southeast
Asia, North America and Europe. It expects to triple the size of its
team by 2022 to support expansion needs.

“This funding round reinstates the boundless synergy agglomerated in the region”, said Winston Wong, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Qupital.
“the GBA comprises multiple world-class manufacturing bases, where
goods are produced and capital needs arise; this is where we step in as a
solution to bridge the financing demand gap. It also reaffirms the
unparalleled role of Hong Kong as an international financial hub – where
innovations are met with opportunities to flourish. We believe Hong
Kong will continue to play an indispensable role within the GBA as a
financial powerhouse.”

“As we aspire to
improve financial inclusion and increase global trade ultimately, we are
committed to back SMEs that have limited access to capital. Being able
to work with Citi on this credit facility has fueled our business with a
stable pool of funds and improved cost of capital. It is the
cornerstone for us to sharpen our product features, build exclusive
relationships with clients and win over market share to gain even
stronger foothold in the global market”, said Andy Chan, Co-Founder and President of Qupital.
“Our ambition is to become the go-to digital financial institution for
e-commerce sellers trading across the globe in the New Economy.”