Meet The Filipino Fintech Leaders On The Gen.T List 2021

Here are six entrepreneurs in the Philippines who are breaking new ground in financial technology

From banking the unbanked to expanding access to credit, here are six Filipino honourees on the Gen.T List 2021 you need to know in fintech.

1. Katrina Chan

For firing up the Philippine startup scene

Co-founder and director, QBO

With her accelerator QBO, which she co-founded in 2016, Katrina Chan aims to kickstart the Philippines’ tech startup ecosystem. The company is a novel private-public partnership, involving collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Trade and Industry, JP Morgan and accelerator IdeaSpace. It organises the annual Philippine Startup Week and has conducted more than 500 startup programmes, and recently launched Start Up Pinay to support women in technology.

2. Sparky Perreras

For banking the unbanked

Co-founder and CEO, PearlPay

Thanks to PearlPay, many people in the Philippines and Indonesia have access to financial services for the first time. Co-founded by Sparky Perreras, it offers a white label mobile wallet service to rural banks in both countries, and runs as a social enterprise, prioritising financial empowerment over profit.

3. Earl Martin Valencia

For dramatically expanding access to credit

Co-Founder, Plentina

Instant credit is potentially available to millions, thanks to Earl Valencia. His startup Plentina offers buy-now, pay-later microloans—interest-free, with a flat fee—allowing people to make everyday purchases and effectively pay for them later. Its app uses machine learning to work out whether people are trustworthy borrowers, effectively building its own credit ratings. Commercial partners signed up so far include 7-Eleven and telecoms company Smart Communications.

4. Jon Edward Santillan

Above Photo: Shyrell Tamayo / Enchanté Studios

For making it easier for migrant workers to send money home

Founder and CEO, Denarri Cash

The world may be getting smaller, but migrant workers still struggle to send money home. Denarii Cash uses blockchain to provide a peer-to-peer, no-fee service that has become a remittance lifeline between Filipino workers and their families. CEO Jon Edward Santillan, who founded the company in 2017, is now focusing on expanding the platform to make it accessible to companies and financial institutions.

5. Francis Plaza

For creating an online payment platform that’s easy to use

Founder and CEO, PayMonggo

PayMongo helps businesses in the Philippines accept online payments from multiple channels. As CEO, Francis Plaza aims to build an invisible engine of commerce, providing opportunities to participate and succeed in the rapidly transforming digital economy. PayMongo is among the fastest-growing fintech startups in Southeast Asia, having grown 40 times in 2020 alone and raised almost US$15 million to date.

6. Rebecca Kersch

For making it easier for Filipinos abroad to help their loved ones

Founder and CEO, Tang App

Tang App is an international peer-to-peer mobile payment app founded by Rebecca Kersch. Having already raised US$1.5 million in pre-seed funding, her mission for the company is focused on financial inclusion: using technology to make it simpler, safer and cheaper for overseas workers to send money back home. Mission accomplished: Tang App allows Filipinos in and out of the country to send phone credit or money to loved ones within seconds.

See more Filipino honourees on the Gen.T List 2021.

Topics

finance technology fintech philippines

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