Taking care seriously

• 500-backed on-demand care startup Homage has closed US$30 million in a Series C round led by Sheares Healthcare Group, which investment firm Temasek wholly owns.
• According to the startup, this is one of the largest funding raised by such a platform in Southeast Asia and Oceania so far. Homage currently operates in Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia.
• “We will utilize this funding to further invest into our technology platform and deepen our integration with the aged and disability care payor and provider infrastructure across the region,” said founder and CEO Gillian Tee. The startup will also accelerate its regional expansion and continue to scale its platform.
• Homage’s network comprises 6,000 trained care professionals. The startup claims that its business outside of Singapore has grown more than 600% year-over-year in 2021, and it has more than tripled revenue over the past year.
• Read the full article on TechCrunch here.

New horizons

• Hot on the heels of its recent announcement of plans to go public, ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ (BNPL) platform Kredivo has entered the Vietnam market.
• In a statement by the startup, Kredivo and Vietnam-based family office Phoenix Holding will form a joint venture called Kredivo Vietnam Joint Stock Company.
• “Vietnam came as a logical choice given the low penetration of credit cards in the country and a rapidly growing middle class; the fast-growing e-commerce market, and the similarities in the demographic and consumption patterns to Indonesia,” FinAccel Chief Operating Officer Valery Crottaz said.
• According to a JPMorgan report, Vietnam’s e-commerce market was valued at US$9 billion in 2019. The investment bank expects a strong annual double-digit growth moving forward.
• Read the full story on Forbes here.

Sparking social change

• “We began our investing practice here seven years ago with the audacious belief that Southeast Asia would birth some of the largest and most innovative startups,” said Vishal Harnal, Managing Partner at 500 Southeast Asia.
• Fast forward to 2021, half of the region’s unicorns announcing plans to go public are 500 Southeast Asia portfolio companies including Grab, Bukalapak, Carsome, Prenetics, and FinAccel.
• Collectively, the firm has made investments in approximately 250 companies, which have gone on to raise a total of $20 billion.
• “The relationships we have built with the broader ecosystem is the foundation for 500 Southeast Asia’s next phase of growth. There is a growing realization of societal interconnectedness and responsibility. We want our entrepreneurs to create returns on investment that drive returns to society. We’re in this together,” said 500 Startups Managing Partner Khailee Ng.
• Read the full story on TechNode Global here.