Hong Kong fintech Micro Connect raises $458m Series C funding
Hong Kong-based fintech start-up Micro Connect has secured $458 million in a Series C funding round from new and existing investors.
Micro Connect raises $458m Series C funding
According to Forbes Asia, the funding round values the start-up at $1.7 billion, making it Hong Kong’s latest unicorn. The Series C saw participation from new investor Baillie Gifford, Forbes Asia reports, as well as from Sequoia China, Lenovo Capital, Vectr Fintech and Dara Holdings.
The start-up is also backed by Li Ka-shing, a billionaire based in Hong Kong, and entrepreneur Adrian Cheng.
Founded in 2021, Micro Connect operates a financial market platform that connects China’s micro and small businesses with global capital through a revenue sharing investment and financing model. The start-up last raised $70 million in a Series B funding round in March last year.
The firm has created Daily Revenue Obligations (DROs) as a new asset class for “direct and diversified exposure” to the daily cash flows of millions of stores in China and claims to make capital “more accessible and affordable” to business owners.
Micro Connect Macao Financial Assets Exchange (MCEX) is the company’s licensed global exchange for DROs and related products, which is slated to launch in August 2023. With the new raise, the company aims to build out MCEX’s market structure in a bid to develop the world’s largest financial market for micro and small business investing.
