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WeLab

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WeLab
Company typePrivate
IndustryFinancial Services, Technology, FinTech
Founded2013
HeadquartersHong Kong
Key people
Simon Loong (CEO & Founder)
ProductsOnline financial products
WebsiteOfficial website

WeLab is a financial technology (fintech) company headquartered in Hong Kong. In the first quarter of 2016, WeLab raised the fourth largest fundraising and second largest Series B fundraising in FinTech globally.[1] The company operates online lending platforms which provide unsecured personal loans to borrowers. WeLab currently operates Wolaidai (我来贷), one of China’s leading mobile lending platforms, and WeLend, Hong Kong’s leading online lending platform.

In January 2016, WeLab completed a US$160 million Series B fundraising round from a consortium of international investors – Khazanah Nasional Berhad, ING Bank, and China state-owned Guangdong Technology Financial Group (GTFG).[2][3]

History

WeLend

In 2013, WeLab launched WeLend – its first online lending platform – in Hong Kong. WeLend offers borrowers unsecured personal loans ranging from US$400 - US$75,000.

Series A Fundraising: US$20 million

In June 2014, WeLab raised US$20 million in its Series A fundraising round.[4][5][6][7] The investors in this round include CK Hutchison’s TOM group, Silicon Valley-based venture capital fund Sequoia Capital, and TOM Group’s Ule.com.

Wolaidai (我来贷)

WeLab expanded to China with Wolaidai in 2014. Wolaidai provides unsecured personal loans to both students and salaried workers.

Series B Fundraising: US$160 million

In January 2016, WeLab completed its US$160 million Series B fundraising round from a stellar consortium of international and domestic Chinese investors led by Khazanah Nasional Berhad. Other investors include ING Bank and Chinese state-owned Guangdong Technology Financial Group (GTFG).[8][9][10][2][3][11] The financing represents the first ever fundraising by a Chinese financial technology firm from both an international bank and government investors, and also one of the first financings of an international financial institution in a leading Chinese fintech player. WeLab’s Series B fundraising was also ranked the fourth largest fundraising and second largest Series B fundraising in fintech globally.[1]

Debt Fundraising: US$25 million

In September 2016, WeLab secured its first credit facility of US$25 million from ING Bank to support the growth of the Hong Kong business. WeLab will also be tapping the bank loan syndication market to raise US$50 million.[12] [13]

Technology

Using its best-in-class risk management technology, WeLab effectively analyzes unstructured mobile big data within seconds to make credit decisions for individual borrowers. To date, the company has recorded zero fraud loss, despite not having met any of its customers face-to-face.[14][15] The fastest loan approval was conducted in simply 21 seconds.[16]

File:Simon Loong.png
Simon Loong, Founder and CEO of WeLab, at the BOAO Forum for Asia in 2016.

Product

WeLab offers financing products through its online lending platforms – WeLend and Wolaidai in Hong Kong and China respectively.

In Hong Kong, WeLend offers both unsecured personal loans and sales financing. Borrowers can apply for personal loans ranging from US$400 – US$75,000 and loan terms between 1 – 5 years. WeLend has also partnered with merchants in Hong Kong to provide interest-free instalment plans for purchasing of products and services. These installment plans increase affordability and convenience for customers and help merchants to expand their online presence. WeLend's existing sales financing partners include 3HK, MaBelle, General Assembly, etc. In April 2016, WeLend announced a partnership with AsiaPay, a leading payment gateway in Asia to offer a fully online interest-free installment payment service to online and mobile merchants in Hong Kong.[17]

In China, Wolaidai enables both students and salaried workers to obtain unsecured personal loans. Borrowers can borrow between US$450 – US$4,500 and repay over 1 year.

Recognition

  • Wolaidai wins 2015年度互联网金融大奖 [18]
  • Wolaidai wins 移动互联网2015年最具潜力奖 [19]
  • WeLab wins Hong Kong’s Technology Company of the Year 2016 awards [20]
  • WeLab is one of top 18 featured startups in Asia for Tech in Asia [21]
  • Simon Loong, Founder and CEO of WeLab, is the top ten FinTech influencer in Asia [22]
  • WeLend is a finalist at Enterprising Hong Kong Brand Awards 2016, held by South China Morning Post [23]
  • Wolaidai wins 中国互联网诚信示范企业 in year 2016
  • Wolaidai wins 深圳百万市民最喜爱的手机借贷平台 in year 2016
  • Wolaidai wins Talking Data 金融应用潜力榜亚军 in year 2016 [24]
  • WeLab was listed as one of China's top 50 fintech companies by KPMG [25]

References

  1. ^ a b [1] [dead link‍]
  2. ^ a b "Hong Kong-Based Fintech Startup Boosting Banks' Profits". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  3. ^ a b "ING, Khazanah Invest in Firm Backed by Billionaire Li". Bloomberg. 2016-01-20. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  4. ^ "Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". Tech in Asia. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  5. ^ Yuan, Michelle (2014-06-17). "Hong Kong's First Peer-to-Peer Lender Raises Funds of its Own - MoneyBeat - WSJ". Blogs.wsj.com. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  6. ^ "Hong Kong-Based Financial Startup WeLab Raises $14M Series A From Sequoia And TOM Group". TechCrunch. 2014-06-17. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  7. ^ Gough, Neil. "Start-Up WeLab Raises $14 Million From Sequoia Capital and Hong Kong Tycoon". Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  8. ^ Ishita Russell (2016-03-01). "HK's Welab to raise $5m from IFC as part of Series B funding". Dealstreetasia.com. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  9. ^ "Hong Kong Fintech Startup Nabs $160M In Funding And Sets New Benchmark". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  10. ^ "Online Lending Platform WeLab Gets $160M Series B To Expand In China". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  11. ^ Reuters Editorial (2016-01-20). "Khazanah-led group invests $160 mln in HK fintech start-up WeLab". Reuters. Retrieved 2016-09-10. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  12. ^ John Loh. http://www.globalcapital.com/article/zmdv5r8hp0nf/wake-up-and-smell-the-fintech. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ^ Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc. http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/hks-welab-secures-25m-credit-support-from-existing-shareholder-ing-bank-52534/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. ^ Shai Oster beijingscribe David Ramli Davidramli (2016-06-20). "Phone Tracking, Nude Selfies See Chinese Bare All for Credit". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  15. ^ Qishin Tariq (2016-06-20). "WeLab mulls insurance sector, maintains China focus". Dealstreetasia.com. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  16. ^ "Banks and fintechs grow closer as winning customers toughens | South China Morning Post". Scmp.com. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  17. ^ "電子商貿的未來：聯款通 (AsiaPay) 與WeLend聯合宣布 推出全網上自動化審批之免息分期付款服務 - Yahoo首頁". Hk.mobi.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  18. ^ "颠覆者我来贷斩获"2015年度互联网金融大奖"_海南频道_凤凰网". Hainan.ifeng.com. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  19. ^ 编辑：潘沈思 (2016-03-09). "我来贷荣获"移动互联网2015年最具潜力奖"_财富资讯_南方网". Finance.southcn.com. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  20. ^ "Tech Company of the Year Awards recognize local success | Computerworld Hong Kong". Cw.com.hk. 2015-06-30. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  21. ^ "Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". Tech in Asia. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  22. ^ "Here Are the Top 38 Fintech Influencers in Asia You Should Know About – FinTech Asia". Fintechasia.net. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  23. ^ "English — Enterprising Hong Kong Brand Awards". Ehkba.squarespace.com. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  24. ^ "我来贷荣登Talking Data金融应用潜力榜亚军_科技_新民网". Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  25. ^ "KPMG announces the leading 50 Fintech companies in China".
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