Education-focused p2p lending platform Pintek announced undisclosed follow-on funding led by Finch Capital. Accion Venture Lab, as the previous investor in pre-Series A also involved in this round. There were several other investors involved without being mentioned.
It is said that the total funding that Pintek has received with this round has reached $5 million (over 70 billion Rupiah). The fresh fund will be used to develop products and technology, as well as continue education so that Indonesians are familiar with education loans.
Pintek’s Co-Founder and SoCap’s CEO, Ioann Fainsilber said, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Pintek services experienced strong growth with revenue increasing by 12 times from the beginning of the year to September 2020, compared to the same period last year.
He said, this growth validates the company’s proposition to drive the entire education ecosystem, finance students, educational institutions, and suppliers of educational needs. “We have also adapted Pintek services to the needs during the pandemic, such as helping schools to finance digitalization and running an effective online learning environment,” Fainsilber said in an official statement, Tuesday (12/1).
Fainsilber continued, collaboration with investors such as Finch Capital and Accion Venture Lab will enable companies to develop teams, build platforms that provide smart financial solutions for better education, and enable inclusive and high-quality education for all Indonesians.
Managing Partner of Finch Capital Hans De Back also gave his statement, “We hope that Pintek will become a comprehensive solution for all needs from the perspective of students, educational institutions, to other educational supply companies. We are very pleased to have supported Pintek since his first term and are now moving into the next phase of growth,” he said.
The Finch Capital portfolio in Indonesia, apart from investing in Pintek, they also invested in Jojonomics, TADA, and Halofina. Previously, Finch Capital and Telkom created a new managed fund for the Arise Fund with a target fund of $40 million (around 565 billion Rupiah). This fund is to be focused on bridging the solution gap in post-seed to series A.
Pintek Instant service
Pintek is owned by SoCap, a company that focuses on growing businesses that facilitate cooperation, exchange, and innovation for social impact in a country. The company was founded in 2018 and is registered with AFPI as a member.
During this pandemic, the company released the Pintek Instant which is an upgraded version of the Pintek Students. This product is able to do credit approval in one hour. However, the credit limit that can be submitted is IDR 5 million with tenor varies of 30 days and 90 days, and interest of 2.19% (specifically for 90 days).
In a press conference held by the company previously, the education sector was deeply affected by the prolonged Covid-19 outbreak. The first is the increasing unemployment rate and the decreasing income of most people.
On the other hand, around 69 million students lost access to education during this pandemic, only 40% of Indonesia’s population has internet access. Educational institutions are automatically affected because they need funds to digitize teaching and learning activities.
To date, the company has collaborated with more than 80 formal and non-formal educational institutions through its Pintek Institutions and Pintek Students products. The total education financing that has been channeled reaches more than 70 billion Rupiah to more than 100 institutions and 3 thousand students spread across 26 provinces in Indonesia.
Apart from Pintek, Indonesia also has several similar services such as Danadidik, Installment, to KoinPintar from Koinworks.
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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian