Lhoopa, a key player in the country’s property technology (proptech) sector, announced raising $80 million in a mix of debt and equity in a funding round backed by major foreign institutional investors.
The proptech startup said it secured $20 million in its equity funding round, likely a Series B, one of the biggest funding rounds in a Philippine startup this year. The round was co-led by World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation and Southeast Asia-focused venture investor Wavemaker Partners.
Existing investors Patamar Capital and Tekton Ventures also participated in the round, along with new investors Pavilion Capital, 10X Group, Concentric Equity Partners, Mirath Investments, and NataRock Partners. Ron Hose, co-founder of Coins.ph, also chipped in.
Lhoop also secured commitments of $60 million worth of debt facilities, according to the announcement. The facilities are provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), US International Development Finance Corporation, and Lendable, a provider of debt to fintech in emerging markets.
The Independent Investor reported in March that Lhoopa and ADB had signed a loan agreement of up to $20 million, with the goal of making affordable housing more accessible to Filipinos.
Lhoopa was founded in 2018 by Marc-Olivier Caillot and Sabrina Tan. It ventures into real estate investments and leverages its network of construction, sales, and customer management to construct cost-effective residences, subsequently offering them to deserving clients for purchase.
The startup enables the large-scale development of affordable homes in the Philippines by leveraging data and technology and engaging stakeholders through a decentralized approach.
Lhoopa will use the fresh funding to expand further in the Philippines and venture into other emerging markets. It also seeks to beef up its technology capabilities and launch its green housing options.
Additionally, the fresh funding will help the startup hire more executives, senior managers, and product developers, per the announcement.
Lhoopa founder Marc-Olivier Caillot said the fresh funds mark a pivotal moment for the startup as it scales its operations to meet the growing demand for affordable housing in Southeast Asia.
“Our dream is to create a much-needed paradigm shift in real estate. Toward this end, as a proptech, our unique model of leveraging technology and local partnerships allows us to deliver quality, affordable homes quickly and efficiently,” Caillot added.
To date, Lhoopa claims to have sold over 2,500 affordable houses in over 58 cities in the Philippines and expanded its team from 30 to 95 employees. The proptech startup seeks to provide over 15,000 affordable homes to Filipinos over the next three years.
In 2022, Lhoopa successfully secured funding in its Series A round, led by Wavemaker Partners and Patamar Capital, facilitating its expansion into additional cities across the Philippines and exploration of opportunities in Indonesia.