Mynt, lone PH startup in SEA’s 35 Unicorns list

Mynt, holding firm of Globe Telecom Inc.’s fintech arm that manages the e-wallet GCash, is the lone Philippine startup that made it to Credit Suisse’s Southeast Asia 35 Unicorns list.

The list featured technology companies valued at over US$1 billion or with at least US$800 million in their last funding round.

Companies in Singapore and Indonesia comprise 74 percent of the 35 unicorns. Sector-wise, fintech led the pack, with 26 percent, followed by e-commerce – 20 percent, logistics -11 percent, and diversified internet – 8 percent.

Significantly, in the Philippines’ cash-driven society, Mynt was a first mover, enabling financial access for consumers and merchants, with services including payments, remittances, loans, business solutions, and platforms.

Over the past year and a half, the pandemic accelerated digital payments and e-commerce in the country, a trend expected to continue after the health crisis.

In the middle of last year, Mynt attracted fresh capital investment from ASP Philippines LP, a limited partnership fund managed by Bow Wave Capital Management.

Mynt raised over $175 million in fresh capital from both Bow Wave and its existing shareholders, across multiple tranches, with a post-money valuation of the final tranches at close to $1 billion.

Since then, GCash sustained its growth, with its target gross transaction value tripling to over P3 trillion this year from over P1 trillion in 2020.

Registered users continued to increase, with over 44 million registered users and more than 2.5 million merchants and social sellers as of end-June.

Furthermore, active users continued to increase, growing 2.8x as against the same period the year before.

Mynt registered positive EBITDA and net income in June this year, transforming its GCash service to a super app that includes e-commerce (GLife) and financial services (lending, insurance, savings, and investments).

Aside from GCash, Mynt has a lending arm, FUSE. The subsidiary offers credit products to the unbanked population.