DBS Bank announced it has participated in classifieds marketplace Carousell's latest Series C fund raising round, which raised a total of US$85 million from multiple investors.

Carousell is one of the world's largest and fastest growing classifieds marketplaces. Carousell's leading mobile app, which enables anyone with a smartphone to buy and sell online, serves 19 major cities in seven markets in Asia. Listings on the Carousell marketplace now exceed 144 million. Over the past year, the Carousell marketplace has expanded beyond preloved items to include cars, property, jobs, services and finance.

DBS' investment in Carousell further expands its ecosystem partnerships and strengthens the bank's efforts to embed itself in the lives of customers across the region. In conjunction with the investment, DBS and Carousell will be collaborating to offer financial products and payment services on Carousell's platforms.

"DBS has been leveraging digital technology and innovation to seamlessly integrate banking into the lives of customers. We're stepping up our participation in ecosystems, improving the customer journey and using data to inform our offerings. The investment in Carousell further builds on that. As a strategic partner to Carousell, we can leverage on Carousell's platforms to connect to its community both inside and outside of Singapore and strengthen our next-generation proposition jointly with Carousell," says DBS group CEO Piyush Gupta. 

"We're thrilled to add DBS as an investment partner, and look forward to a long collaborative relationship," says Siu Rui Quek, Carousell co-founder and CEO. "DBS and Carousell both share the same principles of solving problems and creating value for the community. We are excited to work together to make buying, selling and connecting with one another faster and simpler than ever."

Photo: Nicolas Lannuzel