wagely, Asia’s foremost financial wellness platform, has recently secured US$23 million in new funding amidst prevailing funding challenges, the largest for any earned-wage access (EWA) player in Southeast Asia reflecting strong investor confidence.
- Financial Empowerment: wagely’s financial wellness platform empowers workers by granting access to their pay after each workday, get advances on their salaries without resorting to higher-interest loans, allowing them to monitor their earnings and utilize financial education tools.
- Growth and Disbursement: In 2023 alone, wagely disbursed over US$25 million in salaries, processing nearly one million transactions and serving 500,000 workers. This supports its position as the leading financial wellness service in the region.
- Diverse Funding: The latest funding round comprises a mix of equity and debt financing. Capria Ventures, a Global South specialist venture capital firm investing in applied Generative AI, is leading the equity portion along with existing investors’ participation. With Capria Ventures at the helm of the latest funding round, wagely aims to utilize the investment to deepen its presence in Indonesia and Bangladesh, expand its range of financial services to include savings and insurance, and explore innovative applications of generative AI technology.
- Investor Confidence: Dave Richards, Managing Partner at Capria Ventures, expressed confidence in wagely’s approach as he has been quoted: “The wagely team has demonstrated excellent execution with impressive growth in providing a sustainable and win-win financial solution for underserved blue-collar workers and employers. We see a huge opportunity for wagely to apply Generative AI across multiple use cases, such as automated document processing and local language conversational interfaces for workers to make better financial decisions.”
- Addressing Financial Challenges: With as many as 75% of workers in Indonesia and Bangladesh facing financial challenges and lacking access to conventional financial services, wagely’s provision of accessible financial tools and support is crucial in improving the financial well-being of millions of workers.
- Leadership Transition: With the recent funding infusion, Wagely announced a leadership transition with Co-founder and former COO Kevin Hausburg assuming the role of CEO, succeeding its Co-founder Tobias Fischer.
wagely’s recent funding success underscores its commitment to enhancing financial wellness in Asia and beyond, positioning it to redefine financial management practices and contribute to broader financial inclusion goals..
