ZipMatch raises $2.5 million Series A to expand throughout the Philippines and Southeast Asia

Bonifacio Global City, Metro Manila, March 24, 2015 — Real estate marketplace ZipMatch recently closed a $2.5 million Series A round to expand across the Philippines and Southeast Asia, and continue development on its products designed for homebuyers and brokers. The round was led by Singapore-based venture capital firm Monk’s Hill Ventures. The funding was also participated by existing investors 500 Startups.

ZipMatch will use the funding to recruit more talent and experts in real estate, computer programming, content creation, product development, and customer service. The startup will also continue its work on creating and innovating tools to improve the homebuying experience.

A ‘Smarter’ Homebuying Experience

With the Philippines’ growing economy, real estate represents a significant opportunity for the company.

The core of what ZipMatch offers is a “smarter” process that leads prospective homebuyers into making confident decisions when buying their homes.

ZipMatch Chief Revenue Officer and Co-Founder Chow Paredes said, “Having updated, reliable data in an online real estate marketplace is a big challenge, and I think we have made strides by putting out a product that is unique.”

Unlike other platforms that focus mainly on classifieds, ZipMatch presents an array of services that eliminates most of the online research and physical work done when searching for a property. For one, the startup has been collecting and curating pertinent information about a property, which is accessible by homebuyers in a single, interactive page. These property pages include overviews, available listings and photos, virtual 360° tours, property scout and user reviews, and other significant details.

The project page also boasts of a feature that allows users to virtually scan through every condo building in a city, so homebuyers will not miss any available residential building in case their first choice does not pan out.

For homebuyers who require consultation about the properties they are interested in, a ZipMatch concierge steps in and assesses their budget, the type of home they want, and other pertinent details to match them with not only the best brokers in the Philippines, but with the home financing option that best suits their lifestyle.

The company also offers tools and programs for brokers and real estate developers to find more prospective homebuyers and serve them more efficiently, such as real estate specific CRM software, and dedicated sales trainings about serving online customers effectively.

Addressing the Real Estate Gap

With the Series A funds, ZipMatch can scale this process for more homebuyers across the Philippines, and Southeast Asia in the near future.

In an interview about the investment round, Kuo-Yi Lim of Monk’s Hill Ventures said, “The team members bring different facets of real estate and internet expertise to the table. They are biased towards action, so we are confident that this team will be able to execute quickly and take advantage of the opportunity not only in the Philippines, but in the broader Southeast Asia region and beyond.”

This is one of Monk Hill’s first investments as a firm, and it is their first ever in the Philippines. Lim will join the ZipMatch board following the investment. Monk’s Hill Ventures is also led by Managing Director Peng Ong and partner Stefan Jung. Together with Lim, all three collectively have a 20-year record in supporting high-growth technology startups.

ZipMatch is led by Paredes and co-founders John Dang (Chief Executive Officer) and Kyle Wiltshire (Chief Technology Officer). To date, the team has raised more than $3.5 million, with investments also from Hatchd Digital, Ideaspace Foundation, and IMJ Investment Partners.

Press Contacts

Carissa Hiquiana (Head of Public Relations)
Email: carissa.hiquiana@zipmatch.com
Mobile: +63 998-552-7433
Twitter: @CarissaHiquiana