2020-03-01_Forbes_Asia

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FORBES ASIA MARCH 2020

ith 900,000 merchants already

using his e-commerce site to sell

products to more than 6 million

customers, Base founder Yuta

Tsuruoka managed to raise $26

million last October in an IPO.

Base’s listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange

raised ¥2.8 billion ($26 million) for a roughly 9%

stake. Part of the draw for investors was the com-

pany’s expansion from e-commerce into fintech.

The latest move came in December 2018 when

Tsuruoka started Yell Bank to offer Base mer-

chants accounts receivable financing (Yell Bank is

operated by Base subsidiary Base Bank). Yell uses

THE ACE W

OF BASE

YUTA TSURUOKA is finding new growth for

his startup Base by lending to his customers.

By James Simms

ASIA ALUMNI

DEBY SUCHA FOR FORBES ASIA