TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Start-up digest: Fintech firms snag $163m in funding
Online lender Koinworks and investment app Pluang raised a total of US$163 million in funding in January.
Change Size
Investment app Pluang offers gold, money market and cryptocurrency investment features, among others. (Courtesy of Pluang/-)
T
wo Indonesian fintech start-ups have received a total of US$163 million in capital, kicking off fresh funding announcements in a year expected to deliver new unicorns from the sector.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) lender Koinworks announced on Monday that it had received $108 million in series C funding, while investment app Pluang said in a statement on Wednesday that it had bagged $55 million.
Experts have projected that Indonesia will see another record-breaking number of unicorns in 2022, likely coming from the fintech and e-commerce sectors, which grew rapidly amid mobility restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read also: Fintech, e-commerce firms expected to become next unicorns
Koinworks CEO and cofounder Benedicto Haryono said the company had received $43 million in equity and $65 million through debt. The latest funding round was led by MDI Ventures, with participation from previous investors such as Quona Capital and East Ventures, among others.
“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve doubled down on our mission, sharing KoinWorks’ offerings with more than 1.5 million users who have relied on our services to brave the storm,” he said, as quoted on the company’s website.
Koinworks offers working capital, early wage access and fund management to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The company claims that 10,000 small businesses have been on its registration waiting list since April. Benedicto added that the funding would be used to hire 400 new employees globally.
