IFC Partners with Consumer Fintech Salmon to Drive Financial Inclusion in the Philippines

Manila, Philippines, April 26, 2024—To help expand financial inclusion in the Philippines, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is investing $7 million in Salmon Group Ltd. ("Salmon"), an innovative consumer fintech that focuses on providing short-term credit to consumers underserved by traditional banks.

IFC joins this $25 million Series A extension round (Series A-1) as a lead investor alongside Northstar Group, a Singapore-headquartered private equity fund, and other local and international investors.

The capital will enable Salmon to develop new credit products and a lifestyle banking offering, which Salmon plans to launch in the second half of 2024. IFC will also work with Salmon to further strengthen its role as a responsible lender.

"We are excited to welcome IFC and Northstar as our partners. IFC is one of the largest venture capital investors in emerging markets, and we share IFC's commitment to leveraging disruptive technology to boost access to banking among the underserved," said Raffy Montemayor, a co-founder of Salmon.

Salmon operates and owns a licensed bank (Rural Bank of Sta. Rosa Laguna Inc.) in the Philippines. Founded in July 2022, Salmon uses AI-enabled technology and a proprietary credit engine to offer market-disruptive consumer loans, such as Salmon Credit, Salmon Installment and Salmon Cash Loans.

"This strategic investment reflects our confidence in Salmon's vision of providing modern, affordable, and easy-to-access banking services to every Filipino," said Jean-Marc Arbogast, Country Manager for the Philippines at IFC. "By pioneering investment in AI-enabled products in the country that will disrupt the market and traditional lenders, we hope to fill important gaps in the banking industry."
 
The majority of Philippines' adult population remains underserved by existing banks, especially in access to modern technology-centric credit products. According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), only 25 percent have access to formal credit.  

"We are excited to support Salmon's vision to provide innovative digital banking services and credit solutions to the underserved in Philippines" said Wong Chee-Yann, CIO of Northstar Group. "We also look forward to partnering the founders of Salmon, IFC, and other investors in the journey to build a market leading consumer fintech business in Philippines."

About IFC
IFC — a member of the World Bank Group — is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2023, IFC committed a record $43.7 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of global compounding crises. For more information, visit www.ifc.org
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About Salmon
Salmon is currently operating a licensed bank in the Philippines (Rural Bank of Sta. Rosa Laguna Inc.) with the ambition of building the best credit-led and technology-centric bank in Southeast Asia.

Founded in July 2022 by an experienced founding team, Salmon uses AI-enabled technology and a proprietary credit engine to offer market-disruptive consumer loans (Salmon Credit, Salmon Installment and Salmon Cash Loans) providing differentiated simplicity and convenience to its customers. The mobile application of Salmon is rated at around 4.8 and 92% of Salmon customers recommend its services to their friends and family.

In December 2023 Salmon received the approval of the central bank of the Philippines, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), to become a licensed bank, which will allow it to expand the range of financial services to include deposit accounts, debit and credit cards, and other transactional products.

For more information, visit https://salmon.ph.