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BTN forms Rp 400b fund to invest in property tech start-ups
Mandiri Capital Indonesia, a subsidiary of Bank Mandiri, will become the investment manager of the BTN Fund, with BTN as the sole investor.
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(From left) BTN finance director Nofry Rony Poetra, BTN risk management director Setiyo Wibowo, MCI investment manager Dennis Pratistha and MCI executive Ronald Simorangkir attend the BTN Fund's term sheet signing in Jakarta on Nov. 6, 2023. (Mandiri Capital Indonesia/-)
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tate-owned mortgage lender Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN) has partnered with state-owned Bank Mandiri’s venture capital (VC) arm to establish a fund focused on investing in property tech start-ups.
The mortgage lender and Mandiri Capital Indonesia (MCI) signed a term sheet on the formation of the BTN Fund on Wednesday. The fund is currently awaiting a license from the Financial Services Authority (OJK).
The move makes BTN the latest state-owned lender to set up a vehicle to invest in tech start-ups. In 2015, Bank Mandiri established MCI, followed by BRI with BRI Ventures in 2019 and BNI with BNI Ventures in 2022.
Telkom Group and Telkomsel, other state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the telecommunications sector, have also founded venture capital firms MDI Ventures and Telkomsel Ventures, respectively.
BTN had proposed setting up its own venture capital firm in 2019 and the plan was approved in an extraordinary shareholders' meeting in that year.
However, BTN risk management director Setiyo Wibowo said the plan had been canceled because of the complexity of obtaining the proper licenses and hiring the right employees.
"It is harder to get a license to create a new VC, which also needs to be supported by specialized talent in the sector. After conducting a review, [we decided that] the least risk and most positive impact would be obtained by creating an investment fund," Setiyo said on Wednesday, as quoted by DailySocial.
