Fintech Salmon sets record for largest Series A debt financing in Philippines with US$20mil facility

• Deal positions Salmon as one of SEA’s fastest-growing fintechs
• Funds will enable firm to scale lending operations across Philippines

Consumer fintech Salmon announced that it has secured a US$20 million (RM91 million) debt facility from US emerging-markets specialist investment firm Argentem Creek Partners.

In a statement, the startup said this enables it to further scale its lending operations across the Philippines.

Building on significant investor interest in the debt placement, Salmon said it will expand its loan book, leveraging its existing point-of-sale and cash loan lending, and will launch new disruptive products in the second half of 2023.

The debt transaction, which was completed despite the volatile market environment, sets a new benchmark as the largest-ever debt financing for a Series A tech company in the Philippines, it added.

The deal positions Salmon, which was founded less than a year ago in July 2022, as one of the fastest-growing fintechs in Southeast Asia, it said.

The startup was set up in July 2022 by a trio of fintech and financial services veterans from Russian digital bank Tinkoff, led by Pavel Fedorov, George Chesakov, and Raffy Montemayor, who brought together a team with a track record of delivering fast and profitable growth and quickly secured a US$16 million Series A funding round in Oct 2022.

It launched its first credit product only four months after inception and delivering new product launches every three months since then.

Salmon co-founder Raffy Montemayor (pic) said the firm is humbled by the strong investor interest, as well as Argentem Creek’s support for Salmon’s vision to create the best credit-led fintech in Southeast Asia and for making financial services more accessible to all. “We especially want to highlight Argentem Creek’s focus on building a win-win partnership with Salmon and believe that there will be many options for extending our work together, as Salmon maintains its rapid pace of development in Southeast Asia,” he added.

“We see this milestone as a testament to Salmon’s potential, as well as the market’s trust in our vision and business model. This transaction also conveys a message of hope to many young and aspiring Filipinos, highlighting the incredible opportunities that the global investment community sees in the Philippines today,” Montemayor said.

He added that financial inclusion will be an important driver of sustainable economic growth in the Philippines, and Salmon is committed to continuing to play a key role in this transformation.

Meanwhile, Argentem Creek Partners president and co-CIO Maarten Terlouw said, “We are a long-term value-oriented investor and are excited to support Salmon in its ambitious drive to expand financial inclusion across the region, as well as to provide best-in-class customer service and make lending more accessible to consumers in the region."

“We look forward to working together with Salmon’s investors, including Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ, one of Europe’s top venture investors, and a group of prominent local investors, as well as Salmon’s top-notch management team, to deliver long-term value in the Philippines,” Terlouw said.

Argentem Creek Partners’ CEO and founder Daniel Chapman commented that consumer lending is one of the fastest-growing segments in Southeast Asia, and the firm is convinced that the new generation of credit-focused fintechs like Salmon has a tremendous opportunity, and that Argentem Creek could play an important role in driving forward financial inclusion in these exciting markets.