On Tuesday, Singapore-based fintech startup CredoLab announced that it has raised USD 7 million in its Series A round led by GBG, a global data identity intelligence specialist. Other participants in this round include Walden International, an existing investor, and Access VC.
Established in 2016, CredoLab utilizes an AI-based algorithm to gather data and produce credit scores using mobile device metadata. According to the firm, it has supported over USD 2 billion in loans in more than 20 countries.
Chris Clark, chief executive of GBG, said, “[CredoLab’s] AI-based proprietary technology will complement our existing offering but also provide critical behavioural risk reference data from good customers that are financially excluded.”
CredoLab intends to use this further investment to enhance its product features, such as by strengthening its alternative credit core scoring algorithm, CredoScore. The firm also plans to encourage adoption of its solutions in other finance-related industries and expand across Asia, Latin America, and Africa.
In June, CredoLab partnered with GBG to uplift unbanked and underbanked Indonesians. Banks, lenders, and mobile wallets can leverage GBG Instinct, GBG’s anti-fraud solution, to perform data callouts to CredoLab’s cloud service in Indonesia.
“Despite the obvious slowdown caused by COVID-19, we have already seen a significant shift from physical originations to digital ones and an increased appetite in using alternative sources of data,” Peter Barcak, CEO and founder of Credolab, said.
CredoLab’s latest fundraising round follows a rise in fintech investment in the region. In the second quarter of 2020, funding for fintechs in Asia-Pacific increased by 9.1%. Southeast Asian fintechs raised USD 455 million, approximately three times the amount compared to the previous quarter.