Silicon Valley forum picks Maya among best Southeast Asia unicorns

Maya headlined a recent Silicon Valley fintech forum for being the only unicorn in the Philippines with the most comprehensive digital financial services ecosystem.  

Advertisement

Organized by the University of San Francisco’s Center for Business Studies and Innovation in Asia-Pacific and the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business–Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), the conference brought together investors, academe, and tech unicorns from Southeast Asia.

Joining Maya were Singapore-based Insurtech bolttech, Indonesia-based pediatric health platform Primaku, and Thailand-based blockchain and crypto firm Bitkub Capital.   

At the conference, Maya Group Chief Product Officer Mitch Padua shared how Maya transformed beyond payments to become the fastest-growing digital bank as it addresses the need of Filipinos hungry for more progressive financial services.  

While Filipino adults with a financial account grew from 29% in 2019 to 56% in 2021, only 37% of adults have savings, and 4% of Filipinos with loans borrowed from a bank, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).   

“That’s why we have become the only all-in-one money app that allows consumers to spend, save, borrow, and grow their money. We’re leveraging on our largest merchant-acquiring business, biggest on-ground MSME network, and now, the fastest-growing digital bank in the Philippines,” Padua said.   

As of end-September 2022, Maya counts 52 million registered users across its consumer platforms and over 810,000 registered merchant touchpoints. Five months after its launch in April 2022, Maya posted 1 million new bank customers and a record PHP 10 billion deposits balance.  

Maya’s integrated financial services model has gained the trust and confidence of globally renowned shareholders in the technology and financial services industries. It counts PLDT, KKR, IFC Emerging Asia Fund, IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund, SIG Venture Capital, EDBI, and First Pacific Company Ltd among its shareholders.

In April 2022, Maya became a tech unicorn through its mother company Voyager Innovations, contributing to a significant increase in venture capital investment flow to the Philippines. According to the Google, Temasek, and Bain Southeast Asia e-Conomy 2022 report, the Philippines, with Vietnam and Indonesia, is most likely to attract more investors over the longer term.  

“Maya has emerged as a compelling growth story for the Philippines and the Southeast Asian region. Our world-class talent pool, digital-first culture, fully digital operations, data-driven methods, secure and trusted systems, and strong enterprise relationships are at the core of our strong and unique ecosystem,” added Padua.   

Padua said Maya would continue to focus on providing unparalleled value to customers through tech-driven innovations. With the significant acceleration of digital adoption, there will also be a shift towards deeper engagement through progressive financial services such as savings, credit, and investment.  

The company also continues to widen its merchant base equipped with QR Ph, the BSP-mandated national standard for QR payments, and grow its network of Maya Centers to reach the underserved and unbanked.