Deals in brief: IFC invests in Pakistan’s i2i Ventures, Seeds Finance secures further funding, Grab acquires Chope, and more

IFC invests USD 3 million in i2i Ventures

i2i Ventures, a Pakistani female-led venture capital fund, has secured a USD 3 million investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) under its Startup Catalyst Program. The investment consists of up to USD 2 million from IFC’s own account and up to USD 1 million from the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi).

The Startup Catalyst Program aims to support incubators, accelerators, and seed funds that invest in innovative early-stage startups in underserved markets. This funding will help i2i Ventures back founders who are solving Pakistan’s major problems by providing not only financial backing but also hands-on support.

In its statement, the IFC said that this investment aligns with its “counter-cyclical” role, helping to fill the gap in venture capital funding globally by investing in local VC managers like i2i Ventures. The organization added that, to date, the Startup Catalyst Program has supported 22 accelerators and seed funds, which have invested in over 1,180 startups across 24 emerging markets.

Seeds Finance secures further funding

Seeds Finance, a gamified investment platform, has received further funding from its early-stage investor, Seven Capital Valor, according to a report by DailySocial. The funding details were not disclosed.

Seeds offers an integrated investment education platform through gamification, targeting students and university students. Since launching its first version in September 2023, Seeds said its app has been downloaded over 70,000 times, more than doubling its monthly active users in the second quarter of 2024.

With this funding, Seeds plans to add educational content variants, develop gamification features, and collaborate with strategic partners to expand across Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Grab acquires Chope’s Southeast Asian businesses

Grab, Singapore’s ride-hailing and food delivery giant, announced this week that it has acquired restaurant reservation platform Chope for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition excludes Chope’s operations in Hong Kong and China but covers its businesses in Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand.

Post-acquisition, Chope’s brand, app, and website will continue operating independently. Chope’s staff will join Grab’s offices in Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand, with no redundancies expected.

Grab plans to integrate Chope’s booking system into its super app to enhance value for its merchant partners.

Hive Health closes pre-Series A funding round

Hive Health, a Philippine health insurance company, has closed a pre-Series A funding round with the backing of various investors including Gentree Fund and Beenext, according to regulatory filings accessed by DealStreetAsia.

Live Ventures, Zyp, Glance, and more led yesterday’s headlines:

Singapore’s Duke-NUS Medical School launched Live Ventures, a SGD 20 million (USD 14.8 million) incubation program to commercialize innovative academic research.
Zyp Technologies, a provider of electric mobility solutions in Pakistan, secured USD 1.5 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Shorooq Partners.
Glance, a Singapore-headquartered consumer technology company and unconsolidated subsidiary of InMobi Group, is reportedly in advanced discussions to raise up to USD 250 million in a funding round led by Google.

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