Fintech startups Ayannah and Electronic Cash and Payment Solutions (ECAPS) enter a merger to move forward as a Pan-Asian company named Ayannah Global. With the region's middle class as their main target consumer to offer their e-payment services to, Ayannah Global is set to have its headquarters in Singapore.
With Singapore being a choice location for many businesses looking to prosper in the region, the company plans to capitalise on the country's diverse and talented labour market as well as nurture potential partnerships with businesses. Amidst a global health crisis where the demand for digital payments surges, a representative from Ayannah Global shared in an interview with Tech in Asia that the company looks to use the demand as a driver for business growth.
Commenting further on the merger, both companies could leverage on their “huge operational and technological synergies”, which will, in turn, allow them “to better reach customers, scale up product development, and expand their reach within Southeast Asia.”
As a separate company, Philippines-based Ayannah was founded in 2010. The platform's AI-driven model provides a host of products and services across financial and lifestyle categories. For example PanaloCare, one of Ayannah's products, was launched in partnership with AXA providing daily supplementary income to insured clients who had to be hospitalized.
The Bengaluru-based ECAPS, on the other hand, was founded in 2013 and targets the needs of the domestic migrants and unbanked community with a priority on services such as local money transfers, utility payments, recharges and travel ticketing. With 12 million transactions facilitated, it has more than 15,000 distributors and 30,000 retailers.
Collectively, both companies have presence in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Going forward as one entity, Ayannah Global aims to enter the Vietnamese market and capture over 10 million customers across the region via its mobile apps and expanding nexus of 60,000 offline channels.
Other plans in the pipeline include raising funding targeted between US$30 million to US$50 million in a Series B round scheduled for June 15, as well as adding business-to-business (B2B) segments in their target market.
Ayannah Global will be led by Chairman Ray Ferguson, an experienced banker who also chairs Singapore Life (digital insurer) and is a managing partner at Caber Partners (a financial institution that provides fund management and advisory services). Prior to his current roles, Mr Ferguson spent more than 17 years with Standard Chartered, holding chief executive positions in Asia and the Middle east.
At present, the group has launched a digital marketplace call Kaya in the Philippines, where middle-class customers and business owners can reach out to banks, lenders and insurers for their e-financing matters. Later this year, versions of the platform will be introduced in India, Indonesia and Vietnam.
