Fintech firm GoBear to cease operations amid Covid-19 pandemic

Singapore financial services startup GoBear announced it will cease operations as a result of the challenging operating and fundraising environment brought by Covid-19.

GoBear CEO Adrian Chng / Photo credit: GoBear

GoBear started off in 2015 as a metasearch engine before later expanding into financial services, offering insurance products and comparison tools for insurance policies, credit cards, and loans from different insurers and banks. Just last year, the company raised US$17 million to further expand its platform.

Now, GoBear said it plans to begin an orderly closure of its business. The firm shared that it could not raise funds to continue operations as some financial products and services, especially travel insurance, see weakening demand.

The business closure will be conducted in a phased and controlled manner over a short period in compliance with local laws and regulations across markets that GoBear is operating in, the company said in a statement.

“Our purpose was to improve the financial health of people across Asia,” said Adrian Chng, CEO of GoBear. “We take our responsibility to our customers, employees, partners, and vendors very seriously, and we intend to fulfil our existing commitments to them as part of an orderly business closure process.”

The company has 165 employees in six offices across Asia. They will be provided with their required notice periods and salaries, according to the statement.

The announcement comes after the company disclosed it has laid off 22 staff members from its offices in Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Ukraine as part of its cost-cutting measures during the pandemic.