Hong Kong-based Oriente raises $20 million to expand Philippines operations

MANILA, Philippines — Hong Kong-based Oriente and Gokongwei-owned JG Summit Holdings Inc. through Cashalo is sinking in $20 million to grow its loan book for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and further expand its presence in the Philippines.

 Oriente said it has secured a $20 million debt funding facility from leading Hong Kong-based multi-asset investment firm Silverhorn Group.

 The technology and data science company said the facility could be increased up to $50 million to grow its loan book and extend the reach of its fair, inclusive, and affordable digital-credit and Pay Later solutions to millions of undervalued and credit-starved consumers and micro-enterprises in the Philippines.

 The new funding helps accelerate Oriente’s commitment to expand financial access responsibly through Cashalo in the Philippines that has grown over 20 percent since its launch.

 In less than 18 months, the app has been downloaded over 6.5 million times, grown its user base to over 2.5 million consumers and helped over 1.5 million previously ‘credit-invisible’ Filipinos build financial identities for the first time.

Cashalo, a mobile-first lender, is part of the joint venture of Oriente and JG Summit subsidiary Express Holdings Inc., that seeks to accelerate financial inclusion in the Philippines by providing loans to the unbanked sectors in the country.

Geoffrey Prentice, co-founder of Oriente, said the company is excited to have won the confidence of Silverhorn Group.

“As we enter the next stage of growth on our mission to helping ignite economic opportunity for tens of millions of consumers and micro-enterprises, the support we receive from our debt partners is critical. We look forward to strengthening our relationship with Silverhorn and invite other investors to join us as we accelerate our efforts to build the future of finance in Southeast Asia,” Prentice said.

The additional funds would allow Cashalo, a joint venture between Oriente and JG Summit, to reach more unbanked and underserved small and medium enterprises as well as MSMEs in the Philippines.

The deal marks a major milestone for Oriente as it is the largest debt financing with an institutional lender it has secured to date, which underlines the quality and bankability of its fast-growing loan book.

For Silverhorn, this represents another high-potential investment in ASEAN and in the fintech sector. In addition, these funds will help diversify the funding mix of the company’s loan book.

Silverhorn Group managing partner Mike Imam said Oriente shares the company’s values of promoting financial inclusion in Southeast Asia. 

To date, it is one of the very few non-bank lenders that can leverage on alternative data points and an algorithmic risk engine to underwrite credit to the under- financed populations in the region. This helps originate and provide a portfolio construction building brick which is higher yielding, predictable and uncorrelated to traditional asset classes,” Imam added.