Work starts now

• Kredivo, the Indonesia-based fintech platform operated by 500-backed FinAccel, has completed the acquisition of financing company PT Swarna Niaga Finance for an undisclosed sum.
• Now with a multi-financing license, Kredivo’s lending services are planned to grow even more rapidly, allowing the platform to channel 30% of its financing to online lending platforms, according to DailySocial.
• However, Kredivo Indonesia CEO Alie Tan said the acquisition will not shift Kredivo’s business direction.
• “This is why we can expect to grow rapidly and serve 10 million users in the next few years,” he said in a statement.

• While Alie didn’t share Kredivo’s plans for the acquisition, he said, “We will soon share the roadmap as we are still working on it internally.”
• In an interview with TechCrunch last year, Akshay Garg, chief executive of FinAccel, said Kredivo has garnered more than a million customers and was growing by 300% year-on-year.
• Kredivo’s credit-lending options are also integrated across 350+ merchants from different industries, such as consumer goods and F&B.
• For more on Kredivo, visit its official website here.

Exciting times

• Quek Siu Rui, co-founder of 500-backed classifieds company Carousell, told CNBC the company is looking to achieve profitability in the next three to four years.
• While Carousell is nearing unicorn status after receiving US$80 million in fresh funds from South Korea’s Naver, Quek said the goal is to become profitable.
• “I think for us this transaction, this round of funding that we closed doesn’t really change our strategic focus as a company,” Quek said.

• One of the ways Carousell plans to achieve that is by doubling down on tech hires, but it has been challenging due to talent scarcity in the region as a result of Covid-19.
• “I think the tech recruitment challenge has always been difficult, but I would say that in a time like this, it has actually been extremely difficult,” Quek added.
• The ongoing pandemic crisis, however, has caused transaction volumes to increase substantially. This was mainly due to shifting consumer behaviors. Carousell saw more than a billion dollars worth of transactions on its platform between February and June 2020.
• “Because people are staying home more, one strategic focus for us going forward in end of 2020 and all of 2021 is the services category. So this is a big new business area for us that we are doubling down on,” Quek said.
• Read Quek’s interview with CNBC here.

Cruising through Southeast Asia

• 500-backed Carsome’s collaboration with e-commerce company Shopee made headlines last month. It was a move that changes how consumers buy cars, especially during this period of social distancing.
• Eric Cheng, CEO and co-founder of the company, told KrAsia that Carsome was able to leverage Shopee’s reach and large user base.
• “There are a lot of car buyers, but we need to convince them to trust us. The collaboration between the two creates a seamless experience to deliver the used cars,” he said.

• Besides, all listed cars come complete with car specification details and multi-angled photos. They also come with a one-year warranty and five-day money back guarantee.
• Eric also touched on the V-shaped recovery in the past few months, with the company achieving record-high month-over-month growth since June.
• “We expect the momentum to carry through the next few months. We’re staying cautious, and expanding to make sure that we can cater to more customers. The fact that we are unable to travel to other countries is a major bottleneck. Still, we are pretty optimistic,” Eric added.
• As Carsome solidifies itself as the go-to used car platform in Southeast Asia, the focus will be on improving their offerings in the cities and countries they’re in. They’re also looking to enter Vietnam and the Philippines.
• Read Eric’s interview with KrAsia here.

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500 Startups is a venture capital firm on a mission to discover and back the world’s most talented entrepreneurs, help them create successful companies at scale, and build thriving global ecosystems. In Southeast Asia, 500 Startups invests through the pioneering 500 Southeast Asia family of funds. The 500 Southeast Asia funds have backed over 240 companies across multiple sectors from internet to consumer to deep technology. It continues to connect founders with capital, expertise and powerful regional and global networks to help them succeed.

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