Toki, a social commerce platform dedicated to collectibles in Southeast Asia, has been gaining popularity among a niche and fast-evolving market of collectors in the Philippines. Since its launch in November 2023, Toki has already featured over 70,000 products across its first 4 categories, onboarded more than 100 curated sellers who all rank among the top 30 sellers/resellers in their respective categories, and already conducted close to 50 livestream auctions.
Observing Toki’s trajectory and its potential impact on the untapped collectibles market, it has already secured a total of US$ 1.8M in pre-seed funding from venture capital partners Kaya Founders and Foxmont Capital Partners. Toki has also received support from strategic investors in the tech industry such as Anthony Oundjian (BGC Philippines), Brian Cu (SariSuki), and Ernest Cu (Globe), to name a few. Additionally, Toki has received an investment from Bigboy Cheng, one of the most renowned sneaker, toy, and art collectors in Southeast Asia.
“Foxmont invests in great entrepreneurs, and frankly, we believe that Frederic, Zoe, Prabh, and Jules are among the best founders that the Philippines can offer,” said Franco Varona, managing partner at Foxmont Capital Partners. “They bring with them a depth of experience from fintech, e-commerce, and ride-hailing that is unmatched, and we believe that they are the right founders to bring Toki to great heights.”
According to a joint study by Toki and GMO Research, the collectible market in Southeast Asia is currently valued at $34 billion and is projected to grow at a rate of 7.2% through 2026, reaching an expected market size of $54 billion by 2030.
Meanwhile, the Philippines represents a strong market at $5 billion with 37% of the population defining themselves as collectors. As 9 out of 10 Filipinos experience issues in purchasing collectibles, Toki was established to bring a more seamless experience to collectors’ journey, from discovery to purchase, and address the challenge of unsecured transactions in the market that comprise payments, logistics, and after-sales. Toki debuted with the first 4 categories of Sneakers, LEGO, NBA Cards, and Funko Pops, representing the most popular collectibles in this market.
Zoe Ocampo, co-founder of Toki and Chief Product Officer, commented, “As we keep on building our success in the Philippines, we’re seeing the huge potential of the collectible market in the region. What’s interesting is that, despite the specificities in each market, there’s a universal desire for transactions to be smooth, secure, and engaging. In countries like Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam, there’s a real appetite for platforms that not only offer reliable, secure trading but also bring the excitement of livestream auctions. We’re thrilled about stepping into this space and making a difference.”
In the next few months, Toki is scaling up to further expand its inventory and introduce more categories in the platform. As the only platform in the Philippines that offers livestream auctions, Toki is eyeing to build on this pioneering feature and unveil more innovative capabilities to continually enhance collectors’ experience.
“Now that we are seeing traction, our primary goal is to establish ourselves as a reliable partner to Filipino collectors. We still need to keep on perfecting our solution to address the gaps that we have already identified in the market,” stated Frederic Levy, co-founder and CEO of Toki. “As we streamline, expand, and introduce more categories on our platform, we will also be assessing other markets to identify where collectors could benefit from our services. Most importantly, we are focused on understanding how to serve them in the most effective way.”
