Carousell gets US$56m investment to bolster operations in Philippines

Carousell has received an investment worth US$56 million from Naspers, through its classifieds business arm, OLX Group. The deal will also provide OLX Group an approximate 10% stake in Carousell. As per the agreement, the eCommerce marketplace will be acquiring OLX Philippines, with the aim of serving the Filipino community to buy and sell online with "greater ease and flexibility". As such, Carousell will integrate OLX's operations and subsidiaries in the Philippines, with integration work happening in stages over the course of the year. The integration is expected to be fully completed in the second half of 2019. Raffy Montemayor, general manager of OLX Philippines, will manage Carousell’s operations in the market and will lead the transition of its customers to the new platform. Quek Siu Rui, co-founder and CEO of Carousell said with the acquisition, more value will be brought to sellers and buyers together. OLX Philippines, part of OLX Group, has 13 years of expertise in the online classifieds space. According to Quek, Naspers’ investment will also enable Carousell to accelerate the cementing of its leadership in Southeast Asia and its pace of innovation. "We will continue deepening our expertise in technology and AI to bring greater value, trust and convenience to our users. We are grateful for the strong support from our new and existing investors, and their conviction in our capabilities, passion for the mission and product vision,” she said. “We are excited to increase our presence in Asia via a fast-growing company such as Carousell, which has deep knowledge across the region. We look forward to learning from them and sharing our own experience of operating in high-growth markets across five continents. Together, we believe we can offer the very best classifieds experience to the local market," Martin Scheepbouwer, OLX Group CEO said. The investment from Naspers currently values Carousell at over US$550 million. In the past two years, Carousell has also integrated artificial intelligence into its platform with the launch of predictive features such as smart listings, personalised browsing, chatting experiences and the recent, price suggestion function. Read also: STB awards SG$1.3m to 7 firms, including VICE and Carousell for marketing proposals GOJEK partners with Carousell to woo new users with vouchers Carousell partners Visa for sensory branding tech