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Type | Private |
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Industry | Financial Services, Technology, FinTech |
Founded | 25 January 2013 |
Headquarters | Hong Kong |
Key people | Simon Loong (Founder & CEO) |
Products | Online financial products, B2B fintech solutions |
Website | Official website |
WeLab is a financial technology (fintech) company headquartered in Hong Kong. WeLab currently operates Wolaidai (我来贷), one of China’s leading mobile lending platforms, WeLend, Hong Kong’s leading online lending platform, and a fintech joint venture AWDA in Indonesia.
In 2013, WeLab launched WeLend – Hong Kong’s first online lending platform. This represented WeLab’s first product launch and would pave the way for future geographical expansion.
In 2014, WeLab expanded into China with Wolaidai (我来贷), which is now one of China’s largest mobile lending platforms.
In 2018, WeLab expanded into Indonesia through the partnership with PT Astra International Tbk (“Astra”), one of Indonesia’s largest diversified holding companies. The two companies’ joint venture company AWDA provides cutting-edge fintech solutions to both retail and enterprise customers.
In April 2019, WeLab was granted Hong Kong's fourth virtual banking licence.
In January 2015, WeLab raised US$20 million in its Series A fundraising round. Key investors include CK Hutchison’s TOM Group; Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital; Yuri Milner, founder of DST Global; ICONIQ Capital; and Ule.com, a joint venture between China Post, China's state-owned postal service and TOM Group.
In January 2016, WeLab raised US$160 million in its Series B fundraising from a stellar consortium of international and domestic Chinese investors led by Khazanah Nasional Berhad. Other investors include ING Bank and state-owned Guangdong Technology Financial Group (GTFG). The financing represents the first ever fundraising by a Chinese financial technology firm from both an international bank and government investors, and also one of the first financings of an international financial institution in a leading Chinese fintech player.
This fundraising round also ranked as the 5th largest fintech fundraising round out of 413 deals across the globe in the first half of 2016.
In November 2017, WeLab raised US$220 million in its new financing from Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund and global financial institutions China Construction Bank (International), Credit Suisse and International Finance Corporation.
WeLab analyzes unstructured mobile big data to make credit decisions for individual borrowers. To date, the company has recorded zero fraud loss, despite not having met any of its customers face-to-face.
WeLab offers financing products through its online lending platforms – WeLend, Wolaidai and Maucash in Hong Kong, China and Indonesia respectively.