The p2p lending startup, Investree announced the first round of Series C funding worth of $23.5 million (more than 382 billion Rupiah) led by MUIP, subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), and BRI Ventures. Other investors participated are SBI Holdings and 9F Fintech Holding Group, both are the existing investors in Series B round.
In the online pers conference, Investree’s Co-founder & CEO, Adrian Gunadi explained, the fresh money will be channeled to tighten the company’s position as the leading p2p lending for SMEs and to support business in Thailand and the Philippines.
“The funding has closed since March 2020. In terms of close round, we’re still discussing in parallel with other potential investors. Whether there’s an adjustment of the total [funding], it’s still an ongoing process. It’s not because we’re currently well-capitalized,” he said on Wed (4/8).
Adrian also mentioned the funding received in the midst of this pandemic is proving investors’ strong confidence in the company’s strategy and management team. “A solid financial platform and conditions enable companies to tackle the current climate with confidence.”
The MUFG and BRI entrance through each of its ventures to Investree allows the company to deepen the partnership. MUFG is a shareholder of Bank Danamon. Synergy with the two banks, he added, is not new. Previously, Investree had begun to establish since 2016 with Bank Danamon and 2018 with BRI.
MUIP’s President and CEO’s Nobutake Suzuki said that he believes to invest in Investree because the company had good fundamentals in terms of performance, legality, and a mature background in the financial world. In addition, he saw the industry, Investree has a great opportunity to lead the lending market for SMEs.
CEO Nicko Widjaja added on his team’s interest is due to the success in serving underserved business segments, such as the creative industries. For conventional financial institutions, this segment tends to be full of risk. “We believe the collaboration between the BRI group and Investree, established since 2018, can contribute significantly to Indonesian economic growth.”
Investree secured series B funding with an undisclosed value in mid-2018. At that time, the round was led by SBI Holdings Inc., then followed by MCI, Persada Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, 9F Fintech Holdings Group, and Kejora Ventures.
Investree’s next target
Adrian saw opportunity amidst the ongoing pandemic, the company is to enter the growing industry sector, health and telecommunications. These two sectors are considered to have significant opportunities and can be helped through financing, especially now that the health industry is at the forefront in fighting a pandemic.
In addition, to reduce the rate of bad loans, the company has established a series of risk mitigations, such as using credit insurance, restructuring and rescheduling, which are seen on a case-by-case basis. How the borrowers are performing and how far Covid-19 is impacting their business.
“To date, we are discussing with several borrowers from hospitality and retail. We see case by case what we can do. Whether the impact is short-term, needs to be restructured. We have prepared the template and are ready to submit it to lenders because we are not the financiers. ”
Regarding the company’s expansion into Thailand and the Philippines, it is still in the stage of processing business licenses. If nothing gets in the way, it is estimated no later than the third quarter of this year, license can be issued. “Currently, the licensing process is still according to our plan and there has been no change.”
“We enter these two countries by partnering with locals who know the business and regulation in the area.”
Until the beginning of April 2020, the company recorded a total loan of IDR 5.11 trillion and a disbursed loan value of IDR 3.83 trillion. The average rate of return starts at 16% and TKB90 90%. There are 1297 borrowers consisting of individuals and institutions.
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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian