MANILA, Philippines —Toki, a homegrown social commerce platform for toys and other collectibles, raised $1.8 million from a recent fund-raising activity to fuel its expansion across Southeast Asia.
The funding round was led by venture capital partners Kaya Founders and Foxmont Capital Partners. It also received support from strategic investors including Globe Telecom CEO Ernest Cu, Boston Consulting Group managing director Anthony Oundjian, Sarisuki founder Brian Cu and notable collector Bigboy Cheng, who also owns foam manufacturer Uratex.
“As we keep on building our success in the Philippines, we’re seeing the huge potential of the collectible market in the region,” Toki co-founder and chief product officer Zoe Ocampo said.
This year, Toki is looking at expanding its collectible portfolio by 12 to 15 new categories from the existing four segments, which are Sneakers, LEGO, Funko Pops! and NBA Cards.
READ: ‘Toki’ targets PH’s P280 billion collectibles market, seizes SEA growth opportunities
It has already onboarded 100 select sellers and showcased more than 70,000 products since its launch in November last year.
Expansion program
The expansion plan is in line with its projection that the collectible market in Southeast Asia, currently valued at $35 billion, would grow at a rate of 7.2 percent through 2026. By 2023, the market size is estimated to reach $54 billion.
In the Philippines, Toki noted the collectible market has amounted to $5 billion already as 37 percent of Filipinos identify as collectors.
Further, 90 percent of the surveyed Filipino collectors said they deal with issues when making their purchases online, the startup said.
As such, Toki said it created a platform catering to the collectors’ purchase journey, including discovery, payments, logistics and after-sales.
“What’s interesting is that, despite the specificities in each market, there’s a universal desire for transactions to be smooth, secure, and engaging,” Ocampo explained.
READ: Social commerce cued for boom in PH
“Now that we are seeing traction, our primary goal is to establish ourselves as a reliable partner to Filipino collectors. We still need to keep on perfecting our solution to address the gaps that we have already identified in the market,” Toki co-founder and CEO Frederic Levy added.