Malayasian student accommodation start-up HostelHunting.com has raised a new round of funding to further expand its business.
With its fresh round of Series A funding, HostelHunting.com will strengthen its foothold in Malaysia and drive growth in the region with a vision to invest in growth, people, infrastructure & technology.
The new round of funding is followed by the portal’s US$500,000 round of seed funding that it received in December 2015. Investors this time around include: Accord Ventures, Inc, Hoop Partners and Startia – a Japanese IT company listed on the Japanese Stock Exchange specialising in web, network & business solutions.
Since 2015, HostelHunting.com has managed to build a strong team and accelerate the growth in the student property rental market where it has expanded its presence across Southeast Asia, Thailand and Singapore.
The CEO of Accord Ventures, Fumihiko Ishimaru, said his company was pleased to invest in the portal.
“We are very excited to join in the HH’s team as an investor. We believe that the team will achieve a phenomenal growth in the future in the fast-growing Asian market and we will support their growth based on our experience – which we have done for the big platform players in Japan,” Ishimaru said.
Wen Khai, the CEO of HostelHunting said one of the portal’s key drivers was its regional growth.
“We have worked hard to provide accommodation near almost every major educational hub in Malaysia & Singapore. Thailand is progressing well as we spread in and around Bangkok,” Khai said.
“We are building a strong community of students, landlords & educational institutions. We are learning from them every step of the way. One of the key challenges that we needed to overcome was to understand the students’ needs in different areas. We are now proud to be able to identify them quickly and provide the best fit.”