Phl startup bags $500k in equity investments

ACUDEEN Technologies, a startup that helps small and medium enterprises (SMEs) overcome financial constraints, recently bagged equity investments of up to $500,000 after besting other participants from over 66 countries in the SeedStars World Summit in Switzerland.

Founded by a Filipino startup entrepreneur Mario Jordan“Magellan” Fetalino III, Acudeen Technologies is a financialtechnology company that provides support for Philippine small businesses coping to make ends meet as they await payments from their clients.

Financial stability is one of the top problems faced by most micro, small, medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country. While MSMEs acquire big contracts with larger companies, they find themselves financially disabled while they wait for their invoices to be paid that are usually in 30-60 day cycles. This scheme forces most MSMEs out of business. With this prevailing problem, Acudeen Technologies provides an innovative solution. It transforms SMEs’ invoices into cash through discounting of their receivables providing them with necessary working capital which they fail to get from banks.

“This is an outstanding work of a Filipino entrepreneur which does not just boast of the innovative capacity of Filipino startups to provide solutions to existing problems, but also reflects the bayanihan spirit among Filipinos that continue to help our small businesses in the country to thrive,” said Department of Trade and Industry’s Trade and Investment Promotion Group Undersecretary Nora K. Terrado.

“We hope to encourage more startups like this in furthering our innovative economy. We encourage them to avail various initiatives of the public and private sector such as the QBO Innovation Hub,” added Terrado.

The Philippines, with increasing collaboration between the public and private sector, continues to urge more local entrepreneurs to explore various opportunities that technology offers for businesses. Through DTI, the Philippine government forwards the development of the startup ecosystem in the Philippines through the Startup Ecosystem Development Program (SEDP).

Recently, DTI together with Departments of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Information and Communication Technology (DICT) with Ideaspace Foundation and JP Morgan launched the QBO Startup Enablement Programs that aim to cater to the needs of the growing startup ecosystem in the Philippines.