Toki raises $1.8M to bankroll expansion

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

@TyronePiad

Toki, a homegrown social commerce platform for toys and other collectibles, has raised a fresh $1.8 million 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.

It has already onboarded 100 select sellers and showcased over 70,000 products since its launch in November last year.

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. Last year, the market size was estimated at $54 billion.

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In the Philippines, Toki said the collectible market was already worth $5 billion 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. INQ