Salmon raises $100M in equity and debt to bring digital credit to underbanked Filipinos
Source: TechCrunch
Founding and Vision
Salmon was founded by Pavel Fedorov, George Chesakov, and Raffy Montemayor, all former employees of Russian digital bank Tinkoff. Montemayor was Tinkoff’s first employee in the Philippines and led its expansion there from 2016. In March 2022, the trio left Tinkoff and launched Salmon.
“We saw that the Philippines and broader Southeast Asia were proving themselves in terms of innovation,” Fedorov told TechCrunch. “The Philippines is probably one of the most exciting markets for disruption in the financial services industry in the world.”
The Philippines is one of the most active mobile markets globally, with a young, tech‑savvy population, often dubbed the social‑media capital of the world. Yet its financial system has struggled to keep pace.
Target Market
Salmon focuses on underbanked Filipinos who have little or no credit history, as well as borrowers dissatisfied with incumbent lenders’ reliability issues.
Licensing Strategy
In January 2024, Salmon acquired a rural bank founded in 1963 to secure a banking license, accelerating its market entry. The acquisition is detailed in a report by FinTech Global (link).
Product Suite
The startup is building a full suite of financial products, including:
- Revolving credit lines
- Installment loans
- Cash loans
- Motorbike loans
- Deposits (via its subsidiary, Salmon Bank)
“We started by solving the hard things first, lending, and then followed up with many other products. By now, we have around seven or eight different products,” Fedorov said.
Lending Experience
- Application: Customers fill out a form on their phone, upload a few documents, and receive a decision in 20 seconds.
- Disbursement: The motorbike can be ready for pickup the next morning.
- Scoring: Instead of traditional credit history, Salmon scores borrowers in real time using behavioral and digital data, allowing rapid limit adjustments for timely repay‑ers.
- Grace Period: Up to 62 days, making the loan interest‑free for borrowers who pay on time.
Salmon Bank also offers term deposits with rates up to 8 %.
Funding Details
The recent financing round combines equity and debt by design:
| Type | Amount |
|---|---|
| Equity | $60 million |
| Debt (Nordic bond market) | $40 million |
Overall, Salmon has raised $310 million to date, comprising $160 million in equity and $150 million in bonds.
Investors
- Recent round: Spice Expeditions, Washington University Investment Management Company, Moore Strategic Ventures, FJ Labs
- Previous backers: IFC, ADQ (Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund), Lunate, Antler VC
Growth Plans
With the new capital, Salmon will prioritize scaling operations and building new products. Fedorov indicated that, if execution proceeds well, the company may look to expand internationally within the next two years.