Instrumental in the fundraising of over 500m USD for Indonesia’s first ever Payment Gateway Unicorn, creating the financial model that formed the basis for investors to participate in the Series C and Series D fundraise. The company was a complex Fintech company, looking to raise funds to expand into 4 other markets and increase its product offering such as lending, banking and cross-border remittance.
As the first CFO of a Fintech and SaaS startup that had raised over 110m USD in Singapore, saving the company that had less than 6 months of runway remaining to 2 years of runway. Complete turn-around of the business strategy, devising a plan for the board and executing divestment of assets not part of the new plan and turning gross profit margin from -50% to 43% in 6 months and over achieving on net profit target by +12%.
The company faced a post-merger integration challenge after acquiring fintech companies in the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, with misaligned reporting, controls and performance metrics between the group and the acquired businesses. Focused on restoring financial visibility by aligning reporting standards, forecasts, KPIs and cash management. This stabilized the integration, reduced execution risk and allowed management to shift from post-deal cleanup to scaling the business, increasing the valuation of the company and ARR to over 150m USD.
The company was presented with the opportunity to complete an M&A for a well-known Fintech player based in Taiwan and Hong Kong, with the goal was to accelerate regional expansion via acquisition rather than organic entry. I assessed the business model, economics, financials and strategic fit plus met the founders and team in Taiwan. Based on the analysis, I recommended exiting the process upon finding adverse conditions within the target, helping the company avoid a transaction that did not create strategic or financial value.
Appointed as the first Group CFO of a startup in the GCC and Pakistan, delivered the Group’s first budget approved by the board members as the company reached 100m USD ARR. The company was a multi-entity leading Fintech, Financial Service and Bank with operations across 4 regions and the budget would also form the basis for further investment for Series B fundraising. Created various policies and SOPs that met regulatory approval on topics such as liquidity, treasury and risk. This included stablecoin and crypto asset policies.
Was part of the leadership team that drove a fintech acquisition, evaluating an M&A transaction in the Philippines as part of a regional expansion strategy. The key challenge was acquiring a business in an unfamiliar market with limited visibility on regulation, unit economics and execution risk. My role was to provide financial and commercial diligence, assess local market risks and build a clear investment thesis that positioned the acquisition as a platform for regional growth. The acquisition enabled the company to enter a new market with an established operating platform and customer base. As a result, revenues at a group level more than doubled over the following period, validating the acquisition strategy and positioning the company for continued regional growth, allowing the company to be the Number 1 player in its market in two countries.
Fractional CFO & Strategic Finance for FinTech, SaaS & High-Growth Companies