Creador leads $11m round of Filipino digital bank player

Singapore-based UnoAsia, the parent company of Uno Digital Bank in the Philippines, has raised US$11 million in a pre-series A funding round led by Creador.

The deal pushed UnoAsia’s total funding to US$44.5 million to date.

UnoAsia founder Manish Bhai / Photo credit: UnoAsia

Founded by Manish Bhai and Kalidas Ghose in 2020, UnoAsia aims to serve 45 million underbanked people in the Philippines. To this end, it acquired a digital bank license from the country’s central bank in 2021.

In a statement, the company said the fresh funds will help the commercial launch of Uno Digital Bank, which is still under a closed-loop beta test.

“Our investment will allow us to promote financial inclusion in a country where only 10% are borrowing from the organized sector,” said Omar Mahmoud, Creador’s managing director.

Aside from Creador, angel investors such as Akash Bhanshali and Helios Capital founder Samir Arora are among UnoAsia’s investors.

UnoAsia also plans to set up digital banks in other countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia, making the firm a regional player in the next few years.

See also: Mapping SEA’s key digital banking players (update)