Ex-regional MD of WeWork launches fintech firm with buy-now-pay-later solution

THE former managing director of WeWork South-east Asia and Korea Turochas "T" Fuad has launched Pace Enterprise, a fintech solutions provider with a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) solution.

Mr Fuad previously launched and scaled Travelmob and Spacemob, two startups which were acquired by vacation rental site HomeAway and co-working space startup WeWork respectively.

He joined WeWork after the Spacemob acquisition, scaling WeWork's presence in South-east Asia from three to 34 locations.

Pace on Tuesday said in a press statement that it raised a "high seven-figure" amount in a seed funding round co-led by Temasek's Vertex Ventures and Indonesian investor Alpha JWC.

The Singapore-headquartered startup, which is also available in Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong, will use the funding to further develop its platform and offer progressive services and solutions to consumers and merchants.

Its platform matches customers with appropriate spending limits that allow them to split their purchases over three interest-free instalments.

The firm has added over 300 points-of-sale from over 200 merchant partners since November 2020. These partners include Goldheart, OSIM, Sincere Watch, Carousell, Reebonz and FJ Benjamin.

As part of a BNPL pilot programme in Singapore, Pace signed an exclusive partnership with Carousell that enables specially curated Carousell merchants to offer Pace's BNPL payment option to their customers.

Pace aims to reach 5,000 merchant partners by the end of 2021 through its geographical expansion into North Asia and the rest of South-east Asia.

Vertex Ventures South-east Asia and India managing partner Chua Kee Lock said Pace has a clear and bold vision to create an inclusive and accessible ecosystem. The Temasek subsidiary was an early investor in Spacemob.

"We have been impressed with T at Spacemob and are happy to back him again in this new venture," Mr Chua said.

Mr Fuad said: "The reason we launched Pace - and our long-term goal - is to create a broader and more inclusive digital fintech platform that empowers underserved populations."