Globe Telecom Inc. said its fintech unit Mynt — which manages its e-wallet operation, GCash — has made it to Credit Suisse’s Southeast Asia 35 Unicorns list.
The list highlights technology companies in several industries and countries in Southeast Asia that are valued at over $1 billion or wherein the last funding round was at least $800 million, and is backed by strong business momentum, noted Globe.
The list is part of the latest Asean Equity Research of Credit Suisse entitled “Asean Unicorns, Scaling New Heights.” It looks at the top startup companies in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Myth is the sole Philippine startup in the list.
The Credit Suisse research noted that Mynt’s wallet sizes are increasing, credit traffic flow is accelerating and use cases are widening.
“Mynt has been able to capitalize on these trends with the transformation of its GCash service to a super app that includes e-commerce (GLife) and financial services (lending, insurance, savings, and investments),” it said.
“In a primarily cash-driven society like the Philippines, Mynt is the first mover in the country in enabling financial access for consumers and merchants. Its services include payments, remittances, loans, business solutions, and platforms,” it added.
Globe said that over the past year and a half, the pandemic became a catalyst in the acceleration of digital payments and e-commerce in the country, with merchants and consumers shifting from offline to online transactions during the year.
“This shift is expected to sustain even after the crisis as people get used to convenience and ease of use,” it said.
Globe added that in mid-2020, Mynt attracted fresh capital investment from ASP Philippines LP, a limited partnership fund managed by Bow Wave Capital Management.
Mynt also raised over $175 million in fresh capital from both Bow Wave and its existing shareholders, across multiple tranches, with a post-money valuation of the final tranches at close to $1 billion.
“Since then, GCash has sustained its remarkable growth, with its target gross transaction value seen to triple to over P3 trillion this year from over P1 trillion in 2020,” Globe said.
“Registered users continued to increase, with over 44 million registered users and more than 2.5 million merchants and social sellers as of end-June. Moreover, active users continued to increase, growing 2.8x as against the same period the year before,” it added.
Globe said Mynt has shown “the ability to scale sustainably, registering positive EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) and net income in June this year.” – Ruelle Castro
