Eco-tourism startup Big Tiny raises US$3m in round co-led by Koh Boon Hwee

ECO-TOURISM company Big Tiny has raised US$3 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by 4 investors - Singaporean businessman Koh Boon Hwee, Phillip Private Equity, GPPC Capital Limited and Ascend Angels.

The funds will be used to fuel further growth in Australia as well as an anticipated expansion into the New Zealand market in 2022.

In a press statement on Tuesday (Nov 30), Big Tiny said the latest round of funding gives the business a valuation cap of US$22.5 million.

The startup designs and manufactures tiny homes onshore and has 2 bases in Australia - Sydney and Melbourne. The company assembles the houses there and then deploys them in partnership with host landowners.

Big Tiny said it is exploring the semi-automation of its manufacturing process to further improve production capacity and capability. The company will also look to scale up capabilities across building, sales, marketing, land sourcing and management.

Koh said Big Tiny has enjoyed strong demand despite widespread industry disruption, and this is indicative of the value that the company is delivering to their customers.

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Koh added: "Their eco-credentials also really stand out. Investors, particularly in the travel and tourism space, are increasingly realising that you can marry good economics with being good for the environment."

Koh has served on the boards of some of Asia's biggest companies including Singapore Telecom Group, DBS, GIC Investment, Singapore Airlines and SIA Engineering.

Co-founder and chief executive officer of Big Tiny, Adrian Chia said Big Tiny plans to open an additional 300 tiny houses over the next year in Australia and New Zealand.

The startup said its tiny house portfolio has doubled over the past 12 months. It added that for the first half of 2021, it saw year-on-year revenue growth of almost 260 per cent.

The business has also increased its headcount in 2021, now employing some 30 people across Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.

Co-founder and chief operating officer, Dave Ng said: "We can't wait to grow our footprint in New South Wales and Victoria, and further expand in South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania - eventually crossing the ditch into New Zealand."

Read more: 

• Minimising environmental impact

• Big dreams for tiny houses

• Koh Boon Hwee, Patsnap founder and iGlobe invest in mental health platform MindFi