Mobile P2P marketplace Swapit raises new funding just months after seed

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The online peer-to-peer (P2P) space is working out well for Hong Kong’s Swapit. The mobile hyper-local marketplace allows people living close together to trade, sell, and buy second-hand items. The startup announced an additional funding from private equity investors today. The funding amount is undisclosed and so are the investors, although none of them are existing ones, according to Swapit CEO Patrick Kosiol.

The funding comes just a couple of months after Swapit’s seed round in December 2015. The amount of seed funding, which came from Hong Kong-based Aria Ventures, was also undisclosed. Patrick did not disclose the total funding raised by the startup either.

The funding comes just a couple of months after Swapit’s seed round.

Patrick tells Tech in Asia that Swapit doesn’t like to restrict itself to traditional funding rounds, which is why it chose to raise additional funding so soon. “If an opportunity arises and the investor is a good fit for our company, then we are always happy to talk,” he says. “In fact, even right now, we are talking to about a dozen other potential investors. We evaluate what they can bring to the table in terms of funding, but most importantly in terms of network and domain knowledge.”

As with its seed round, Swapit went into this additional round without necessarily needing the funds right away. “A couple of years ago, I had another startup where we made the mistake of waiting too long before looking for additional funding,” explains Patrick. “You never want to be in a situation where you have to raise funds to survive.”

Swapit’s mobile P2P marketplace allows users to trade in their local vicinity.

The extra cash will be invested in bolstering the startup’s position in its home turf of Hong Kong and building up its technology. Expansion to other markets is also part of the plan – mainly on the city rather than country level, as Swapit’s platform works best in densely populated areas.

“We are still mainly focusing on Hong Kong, but surprisingly, we are already seeing traction in other markets across Asia Pacific,” Patrick says. “Though we don’t focus on those markets, it appears there is a growing need for Swapit there.” Those markets include China and the Philippines, and also parts of the US, he clarifies.

Patrick says the startup will try to enter new markets within Asia-Pacific by the middle of the year, employing marketing initiatives like a US$770,000 giveaway in Hong Kong for the recent Chinese New Year celebrations.