David Chen has stepped down as the CEO of Atome to join Indonesia’s GoTo Financial as head of consumer lending. Separately, InnoCSR has secured an undisclosed Series A funding round from ADB Ventures.
David Chen joins GoTo as head of consumer lending
David Chen, previously chief executive officer of buy now pay later (BNPL) firm Atome, has stepped down to join Indonesia’s GoTo Financial as head of consumer lending, according to a statement.
Chen was with Atome from 2018 until 2023, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before Atome, Chen founded and led the Singapore consumer lifestyle app Nestia from 2014 to 2017.
In the statement, Atome said Chen has led and grown Atome into Southeast Asia’s leading digital financial services and embedded financing platform. Atome is currently available in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines.
The BNPL firm said Chen remains a co-founder at Advance Intelligence Group, the parent company of Atome.
GoTo believes that Chen will be of “tremendous value” to the company as it seeks to accelerate the growth of its business.
“David Chen has recently joined GoTo Financial as Head of Consumer Lending. Having previously acted as CEO at Atome, David has a wealth of experience in the sector and will play a critical role in setting the strategic direction of our consumer lending business,” a GoTo Financial spokesperson said in a statement, noting that Chen previously worked with some of the world’s most recognised technology brands including Yahoo!, Microsoft and Amazon.
InnoCSR secures Series A funding from ADB Ventures, others
InnoCSR, a South Korean materials technology provider, has secured an undisclosed Series A funding round for its Good Bricks System technology from ADB Ventures, according to a statement on Wednesday.
The round was supported by Singapore-based Garden Impact Fund and Clarion Newlife Capital in a bid to expedite Good Bricks System’s adoption across Nepal and the rest of Asia for greener practices within the construction sector.
“The Good Bricks System is poised to disrupt South Asia’s carbon-intensive brick manufacturing industry, which heavily relies on decades-old processes and technology,” said Arsalan Farooquee from ADB Ventures.
The Good Bricks System is a non-fired brick manufacturing technology developed by InnoCSR. It presses bricks with a soil stabiliser instead of baking them in a kiln, which cuts down the processing time and CO2 emissions.
InnoCSR was known as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy consulting firm but has since transformed into a full CSR solutions provider.
After Nepal, the Good Bricks System is scheduled to launch in India and Pakistan in early 2024.