Glints co-founder, ex-Grofers SVP join Saison Capital

SAISON Capital has added Glints co-founder Looi Qin En and former Grofers executive Visa Kannan to its ranks to boost its operating expertise. The firm is also expanding into Pakistan and Africa.

Kannan, who was senior vice-president (SVP) at SoftBank-backed Indian online grocer Grofers, joins as a partner targeting business-to-consumer startups.

Looi, who was chief operating officer of talent recruitment startup Glints, joins as a principal focused on business-to-business (B2B) startups.

"The additions of Visa and Qin En mark an important milestone in the development of our investment thesis on embedded finance. Increasingly, every company needs some form of integration with financial services and with our fintech core expertise and operator team, we can be that partner to early-stage entrepreneurs who are experts in their own areas," said Saison Capital partner Chris Sirise.

Saison Capital, the corporate venture arm of Credit Saison, is expanding its investments to the high-growth emerging markets of Pakistan and Africa to build on its current focus on South and South-east Asia.

The fund's first investments into these regions include Pakistan-based B2B marketplace Bazaar, and OnePipe, a Nigeria-based fintech gateway aggregating financial services.

Saison Capital has invested in more than 20 companies including Tazapay, a workflow management solution for small and medium enterprises to manage imports and exports. The startup has expanded into providing businesses with financial services including escrow and foreign exchange solutions.

Saison Capital also backed Ula, an e-commerce company serving small neighbourhood retailers in Indonesia. Ula has since expanded into providing the retailers with financing solutions.