Original article by Deal Street Asia.
KoinWorks, an Indonesian peer-to-peer lending platform, has raised an S$22.5 million ($16.5 million) Series A led by Mandiri Capital Indonesia, the venture capital arm of Bank Mandiri, according to an announcement.
Indonesian conglomerate Gunung Sewu and Convergence Ventures also participated in the round.
The financing raised will be used to invest in more innovative technologies for KoinWorks which has approximately 50,000 lenders.
“We will go heavy on technology and further improve our user experiences. With more and more people in Indonesia having smartphones and with the combination of an accessible investment as low as Rp100,000 (US$8) in KoinWorks platform, these will change people behavior,” said KoinWorks co-founder and chairman Willy Arifin.
KoinWorks claims to hold a large market share in the retail P2P investment space as the country faces challenges in having broader access to bank credits.
Almost half of the country with a population of 260 million is accustomed to buying essentials online. Indonesia’s online retail industry, which has annual transactions worth about $7 billion now, is projected to reach $15 billion in 2022.
“Alongside with our experienced supervision and KoinWorks innovative solutions, we have high hope for KoinWorks to continue being the leader in providing financial solutions for online SMEs,” said Eddi Danusaputro, the CEO of Mandiri Capital Indonesia.
KoinWorks offers loans relating to business, education, health and recently has launched an employee loan option in partnership with payroll management firm Gadjian. It also offers loan options for those pursuing Bachelor’s and Master’s and doctorate degrees.
Other startups in the P2P lending space in Indonesia include Sequoia Capital-backed ModalKu and Tunaikita, a joint venture of Wecash Southeast Asia.
Outside KoinWorks, Mandiri Capital Indonesia has also made investments in other P2P platforms like Amartha and Investree.