Marketing tech startup Involve Asia to boost PH expansion after raising $10m

Involve Asia, a performance marketing tech company headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, said it will boost its expansion in the Philippines after raising $10 million in funding.

The investment round was anchored by Bintang Capital Partners, the private equity arm of Malaysian asset manager AHAM Asset Management. Bintang carried out the investment through its maiden fund, BCP Asia Fund I.

Orbit Capital Malaysia, 500 Global, and Monumental Productions also participated in the funding round.

Involve Asia said the fresh capital, which is about Php500 million, will be used to fuel its recent expansion in the Philippines and Vietnam. The startup also plans to continue expanding its presence across Southeast Asia and Australasia.

Founded in 2014, Involve Asia connects businesses to content creators, influencers, developers, and affiliate partners to manage and track engagement and activity.

Its platform provides digital citizens across the region greater control over their individual digital profiles with opportunities to self-monetize. The company is also working on developing a platform to cater to small- and medium-sized businesses.

Involve Asia’s expansion in the Philippines is timely and strategic as 82.4% of the country’s total population has a social media account, according data from online media monitoring firm Meltwater. That means there are 92 million social media users throughout the country, a huge market for content creators and social media influencers.

Bintang, on the other hand, said its investment in Involve Asia was driven by the extraordinary shift in Southeast Asian consumer behaviour towards digital consumption, with more than 80% of Southeast Asian consumers expected to have transacted online by the end of 2022.

It believes that the increasing internet and mobile penetration in Southeast Asia would also provide significant long-term opportunities for value creation on a regional scale.

Jimmy How, CEO of Involve Asia said the fresh funding allows the startup to continue growing its platform to better serve brands, publishers, and affiliates, as well as to double down on growth. Involve has tracked over $1.5 billion in transactions for multinationals such as Lazada, Shopee, Grab, Marriott, Malaysia Airlines, Air Asia, Nike, Citibank and over 500 customers across e-commerce, travel, finance, and services sectors.