//

The Philippines has an ambitious target for its startup ecosystem. By 2020, the country aims to have 500 startups that have raised total funding of US$200 million from investors and raked in a valuation of US$2 billion. It’s got a long way to go, but it’s making good progress. This year, we’ve listed at least 15 Philippine startups that earned investors’ vote of confidence. Here they are:

Paynamics

In January, internet payment solutions provider Paynamics raised an undisclosed amount of series A funding from Tokyo-based Beenos, a global internet and ecommerce startup incubator. Paynamics said it would mainly use the money to get more merchants to sign up.

Read our full report here.

Salarium

Salarium, an end-to-end payroll system providing time and attendance keeping, payroll and expense processing, and salary disbursement, took home the much-coveted equity investment worth US$500,000 from Seedstars World (SSW) in February after winning the global startup competition. Salarium bested nine other finalists that pitched their business ideas in front of an international and prestigious jury at the SSW event in Geneva, Switzerland.

Read the story here.

ZipMatch

Real estate marketplace ZipMatch closed a US$2.5 million series A round sometime in March and it’s using the money to develop more products for homebuyers and brokers, and to expand across the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Singapore­-based venture capital firm Monk’s Hill Ventures led the round. Existing investor 500 Startups participated as well.

Read the story here.

Cogito

In April, Cogito received seed funding of an undisclosed sum from Philippine investment firm Kickstart Ventures. The startup is a software-as-a-service platform that allows businesses to create and automate workflows in minutes, and connect these workflows to cloud services.

Read more about Cogito here.

Medix

In April, cloud-based clinic management service Medix sold a stake to mClinica, a mobile healthtech provider for the pharmaceutical industry, kicking off a strategic alliance between the two.

Medix launched in the Philippines in 2013 as a software-as-a-service for dental practices, but it recently developed an electronic medical record platform that has gained traction among hospitals and clinics in the Philippines. By partnering with mClinica, which maintains digital networks of pharmacies across Asia, Medix will gain operational expertise for entry into new markets and access to mClinica’s client base, which includes some of the world’s largest healthcare companies. For mClinica, the deal includes equity in the company, as well as access to Medix’s technologies and development resources.

Know more about the deal here.

Pouch

Pouch is a startup that introduced NFC (near field communication) payment wristbands for huge events. The concept of paying using wristbands already exists in mature markets like the US and Europe (the popular Lollapalooza festival is one event that made use of them). However, the idea is still very new to Southeast Asia. Pouch aims to be a leader in this space in the region, and key to making this happen is the US$500,000 seed funding it raised from Malaysia-based Captii Ventures in June.

Read our full story here.

TaskUs

TaskUs, an outsourcing startup servicing tech startups, raised US$15 million in series A funding from Philippines-based private equity fund Navegar in June. Most people probably haven’t heard of the company, but it’s the secret weapon that a chunk of Silicon Valley has used for years. Founded in 2008, TaskUs handles customer support and back-office services for rapidly-growing startup juggernauts like Uber, Groupon, and Tinder – to name a few.

Read the story here.

Mobkard

Mobkard raised US$375,000 in funding from digital signage advertising firm Globaltronics in July so it could extend the use of its location-based loyalty solutions service to the general public. Mobkard initially focused on the so-called business-to-communities market and created loyalty solutions apps for over a dozen businesses and organizations. While the company continues to do this, it has expanded its service for use by any merchant through its apps on the Apple Store and Google Play Store.

Read more about Mobkard here.

Partyphile

Silicon Valley-based 500 Startups injected an undisclosed amount of seed funding into nightlife app Partyphile in September after the company proved it has had some traction. Partyphile helps people discover Manila’s nightlife, hassle free. Through the app, users can get on the guest lists of all the top clubs in the capital, which means no more lining up or paying entrance fees. Users can also book tables and buy all-access VIP memberships, charged to their monthly phone bills.

Read more here.

Lifetrack

Lifetrack is a radiology software platform that pairs hospital residents in emerging markets with experienced radiologists around the world who can help evaluate medical images. In October, the company raised an undisclosed amount of funding from strategic investors, including Kickstart Ventures.

Here’s the full report.

Rappler

Independent online news site Rappler raised funding twice this year – from North Base Media in May, then from Omidyar Network in October. Omidyar Network is a fund created by eBay founder and entrepreneur Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, while NBM was founded by prominent journalists Marcus Brauchli, who headed the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post newsrooms; Sasa Vucinic, founder and former head of the Soros-backed Media Development Investment Fund; and Stuart Karle, former Reuters COO.

Read our reports here and here.

Lenddo

Lenddo, a fintech startup that focuses on the Philippines, closed a series B round in October from new investors AT Capital and Life.SREDA, and existing investors Omidyar Network, Blumberg Capital, and Golden Gate Ventures. Lenddo is a platform that helps people use their social connections to build creditworthiness and get access to financial services. It now has live deployments in more than 10 countries since opening up its technology to third parties early this year. Banks, card issuers, telcos, P2P lenders, and fintech startups are now using Lenddo to get more customers and manage their risks.

Pas Pas, Fresh2Ket, iMpok

As an offshoot of its pre-accelerator program Alpha Startups in Cebu province last November, Malaysia’s 1337 Ventures invested in three Philippine startups – Pas Pas, Fresk2Ket, and iMpok. Pas Pas is a last-mile, SMS-based delivery service, while Fresk2Ket is a marketplace that connects farmers with restaurants and other businesses. iMpok is a cash deposit microfinancing platform for schools.

Each received a “micro fund” worth US$1,000 and US$5,000 worth of Amazon Web Services credit. 1337 Ventures said it would inject another PHP 500,000 (US$10,600) into each of the startups if they would be able to get their minimum viable products off the ground and register some traction over the next three months.

See our report.

This post Here are the Philippine startups that raised funding in 2015 appeared first on Tech in Asia.

from Startups – Tech in Asia http://ift.tt/1NUuy02