TANGGapp, a fintech startup dual headquartered in the US and the Philippines, has announced raising $2.5 million in a seed funding round that will fuel its expansion into new remittance markets.
The round was co-anchored by consumer tech venture capital funds TEN13 and Goodwater Capital and backed by regional investors, including North Fifth Asia, Foxmont Capital, and angel investors from the Manila Angel Investors’ Network (MAIN).
TANGGapp, founded by Filipina-Dutch Harvard graduate Rebecca Kersch, operates a mobile app that allows money transfers from the US to the Philippines, without charging any fees regardless of the amount raised.
The startup said it makes a small percentage on the exchange rate that users see when they send money on the app.
“Sending money should be as easy as texting, regardless of where you live or what you earn,” Kersch said.
So far this year, TANGGapp said it saw an average month-on-month growth rate of 19%, with over 48% of its users being repeat users. The funding round comes about two years after the startup raised $1.5 million in pre-seed from 17 angel investors.
A company executive told DealStreetAsia that the fresh capital will be used to build out the app further with new products and features, expand its compliance operation, obtain more licences, and implement strategies for acquisition and expansion into new markets.
Data cited by the startup showed that there are at least 10 million overseas Filipinos sending home over $40 billion annually. The receivers of these remittances are in the Philippines, where more than 50% of all adults are unbanked.
Globally, FXC Intelligence said total consumer remittances globally reached $848 billion in 2022 and are expected to pass $1 trillion by 2025.
TANGGapp said it seeks to capture market share of the $40-billion market of remittances coming into the Philippines and looks at launching outbound remittances, where users from the Philippines can send money to the US.
TANGGapp’s funding comes as startup fundraising in Southeast Asia dropped 58.6% in the second quarter of this year. Data from the report SE Asia Deal Review: Q2 2023 by DealStreetAsia DATA VANTAGE show that startups headquartered in the region raised $2.13 billion in Q2, compared with $5.13 billion in the same quarter of 2022.
