KakaoPay, the mobile payment subsidiary of internet group Kakao, has led an $11m series B round for South Korea-based online lending marketplace PeopleFund, increasing the company’s total funding to $17m.
Financial technology provider Dayli Financial Group, venture capital firm 500 Startups and impact investment fund D3 Jubilee also contributed to the round.
PeopleFund runs a peer-to-peer lending marketplace that integrates with financial services firm Jeonbuk Bank to process personal and business loans. Its founder and CEO, Joey Kim, was a senior associate at corporate venturing unit Softbank Ventures Korea between 2011 and 2013.
Kim said this week: “We are pleased to welcome these new and existing investors as strategic partners who share our vision to use technology to promote financial inclusion by giving more people access to credit and alternative investments.
“Incremental investments into advanced technology and recruiting top talent has allowed us to deliver a safe and more efficient financial platform and also stay at the forefront of the fintech industry.”
Dayli, 500 Startups and D3 had previously joined Wooshin Venture Investment, a subsidiary of building materials supplier Asia Cement, for PeopleFund’s $5.7m series A round in June 2017.
