Tonik raises additional $131 million to expand Philippine operations

MANILA, Philippines — The parent firm of Tonik Digital Bank in the Philippines has raised $131 million in additional funds as it aims to accelerate the growth of its operations in the country this year.

Participants in the fund raising activity were Japanese banking giant Mizuho, Prosus Ventures (formerly Naspers Ventures), the co-founder of DST Partners Rahul Mehta, as well as Singapore investment fund Sixteenth Street Capital and Indonesian family office Nuri Group.

The Series B equity funding round also featured strong repeat participation from previous venture  capital investors Sequoia India, Point72 Ventures, Insignia, iGlobe, Alpha JWC, Citius, Blauwpark and Kraft.

Tonik founder and CEO Greg Krasnov said the first digital-only neobank in the Philippines is excited to partner with Mizuho, one of the top 10 banking groups in the Asia Pacific region.

“The partnership with Mizuho will provide Tonik with enhanced access to the international wholesale funding markets and world-class managerial talent, as well as serve as a fantastic platform for our future international expansion. All of this will help solidify our market leadership position in driving financial inclusion in Southeast Asia,” Krasnov said.

Daisuke Horiuchi, managing executive officer at Mizuho’s Retail Business Co., said the Japanese bank supports Tonik’s world-class management in their vision to increase financial inclusion in the region.

“Tonik’s unique track record so far validates the existence of massive demand for digital banking services in the Philippines, where over 70 percent of the population remains unbanked. As the first mover and market leader, Tonik is well positioned to grow into one of the largest banks in the Philippines, as well as enter other Southeast Asian markets,” Horiuchi said.

Based on estimates, the Philippines represents a $140 billion retail savings market and a $100 billion consumer lending opportunity.

Since its launch in the Philippines in March last year, Tonik has set new bank growth records by reaching $20 million and $100 million of consumer deposits within the first and eighth months of operations, respectively.

As one of the fastest growing neobanks globally, Tonik is now focused on rolling out a broad range of innovative all-digital consumer lending products focused on the financial inclusion clients, as well as expanding the value proposition of its account offering.