China-based online lending marketplace WeLab raised $220m in debt and equity financing today in a series B+ round that included e-commerce firm Alibaba’s Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund.
Financial services firms Credit Suisse and China Construction Bank (CCB) also participated in the round, along with International Finance Corporation, the private investment arm of the World Bank. WeLab has now raised approximately $425m since it was founded in 2013.
WeLab runs an app-based peer-to-peer lending platform with more than 25 million registered users. It generally issues small loans to consumers, and CEO Simon Loong told Tech in Asia its loans business has experienced six or sevenfold year-on-year growth in the first half of 2017.
“For this round of strategic financing, it was important for us to have participants that would help scale our business to the next level,” Loong said in a press statement.
“We have been able to strengthen our cash position, further diversify financing sources and strengthen relationships with leading, global financial organisations. This will underpin our growth story, and see us deliver even greater fintech innovation in the world’s fastest growing market.”
The funds will be put into scaling WeLab’s business and expanding internationally, along with introducing new business models and supporting research and development with the intention of boosting its big data and credit risk technology.
Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional led the company’s $160m series B round in January 2016, participating alongside financial services firm ING Bank and Chinese state-owned investment firm Guangdong Technology Financial Group.
WeLab had previously closed a $20m series A round in early 2015 featuring media company Tom Group, venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, investment firm DST Global and multi-family office Iconiq Capital.