Jul 16, 2024

Philippine proptech firm Lhoopa secures $80M in equity and debt Lhoopa , the Philippine proptech company, has on Tuesday announced the successful completion of its $80 million funding round. Lhoopa said in a statement that of the amount, $20 million was in the form of equity, which was co-led by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Wavemaker Partners, with participation from Pavilion Capital, 10X Group, Concentric Equity Partners (CEP), UAE-based Mirath Investments, and US-based NataRock Partners Fund. Other prominent investors include Steve Melhuish (Co-founder of PropertyGuru Group and Founding Partner of Wavemaker Impact), Black Kite Capital, and Ron Hose (Co-founder of Philippine-based Coins.ph). Existing investors Patamar Capital and Tekton Ventures also joined this round. The equity round facilitated the commitment of $60 million worth of debt facilities for Lhoopa from development finance institutions like the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and Lendable, a leading provider of debt to fintech in emerging markets. The new capital will enable the company to expand in the Philippines and to other emerging markets, strengthen its technology capabilities to better support partners, and launch its green housing options. Additionally, the company will hire more executives, senior managers, and product developers. To date, Lhoopa has sold over 2,500 affordable houses in over 58 cities in the Philippines, and expanded its team from 30 to 95 employees. It aims to provide over 15,000 affordable homes over the next three years. “This funding marks a pivotal moment for Lhoopa as we scale our operations to meet the growing demand for affordable housing in Southeast Asia, “Our dream is to create a much needed paradigm shift in real estate,” said Marc-Olivier Caillot, Founder of Lhoopa. “Toward this end, as a proptech, our unique model of leveraging technology and local partnerships allows us to deliver quality, affordable homes quickly and efficiently, “With the support of our investors and financing partners, we are poised to make a significant impact on the affordable housing market and improve the lives of countless deserving families,” he added. Sabrina Tan, President and Co-Founder of Lhoopa, said the firm’s mission is to solve the problem of affordable housing and provide access and opportunities for financial growth to local partners, and this funding will enable them to accelerate their efforts. She said the continued support of the investors and partners, which validates the firm’s vision and strengthens their resolve to bridge the housing gap in emerging markets. Founded in 2018, Lhoopa enables the large-scale development of affordable homes in the Philippines by leveraging data and technology, and engaging stakeholders through a decentralized approach. “With this new partnership, we hope to help close the gap in affordable housing and promote inclusive development by supporting a company that provides digital solutions to first-time homeowners and improved access to financing for low- to mid-income consumers,” said Jean-Marc Arbogast, Country Manager for the Philippines at IFC. Paul Santos, Managing Partner at Wavemaker Partners, said that affordable housing is not typically seen as a venture play, but they believe Lhoopa is solving a long-standing problem that will only worsen unless it is addressed. “Currently, the Philippines has an affordable housing backlog of over 6.5 million, projected to reach 22 million by 2040, “Lhoopa is demonstrating that with boldness, innovation, and differentiated execution, affordable housing can be both profitable and impactful,” he added. Meanwhile, ADB Director General for Private Sector Operations Suzanne Gaboury said their collaboration with Lhoopa represents a strategic partnership that aligns with their shared vision for poverty reduction and sustainability. “Our innovative financing structure, a revolving facility with credit limit step-ups linked to performance, is tailored to the unique business needs of a rapidly expanding company, “This is also ADB’s first affordable housing transaction with the private sector in the Philippines,” she added. Suresh Samuel, Managing Director and Head of Fintech Investments at Lendable, said since closing their initial transaction with Lhoopa in late 2022, they have grown their partnership with the company as it has scaled. “Lhoopa serves as a great example of the type of company we want to work with – a globally ambitious business addressing a core impact need, in this case access to affordable housing for a highly underserved population,” he added.