The fintech firm is also expanding into the Philippines and currently in the process of obtaining a lending licence from the country’s regulators
Indonesia’s online P2P lending startup UangTeman today announced that it has closed the first tranche of its Series B round of financing led by Draper Associates, the VC firm owned by well-known American investor Tim Draper.
New and existing investors, including KDDI Open Innovation Fund (corporate VC arm of telco KDDI) and Japan’s Global Brain, also participated.
The company plans to make the final close of the Series B round at US$10 million, with the second and last tranche targetted for the end of October 2019. This part will be anchored by Spiral Ventures.
According to a press release, UangTeman is also concurrently raising debt capital financing.
Also Read: 10 keys to a startup surviving the first five years
The startup recently obtained its permanent online lending licence from the Indonesian Financial Service Authority, OJK.
“We will begin the Series B2 round as a fintech company that has officially obtained the permanent licence from OJK. This effectively removes any regulatory risk involved in investing in this sector as we are now one of the key forerunners of a socially responsible online lending in Indonesia,” said Co-founder and CEO Aidil Zulkifli.
The firm plans to double down on growth within Indonesia. It will be diversifying its lending book into productive micro-business lending through an acquisition of an existing registered P2P lending platform whose core business is in invoice financing and payroll lending. That acquisition transaction is set to close in September 2019.
The company has also set its eyes on geographic expansion into the Philippines and is currently in the process of obtaining a lending licence from the country’s financial services regulators.
The fintech firm also intends to commence its Series C financing round in mid-2020 in order to fuel its further growth across Southeast Asia.
Operated by PT Digital Alpha Indonesia, a subsidiary of Digital Alpha Group, UangTeman uses Machine Learning credit algorithms to provide short-term microloans for consumers and MSMEs.
“UangTeman is transforming credit in Indonesia. We were ready to fund their Series B before they were granted the permanent license from OJK. This approval only solidified our thesis that UangTeman is poised to dominate the online lending industry in Indonesia, and eventually, globally,” Tim Draper, Founder of Draper Associates.
“In Indonesia, the online loan industry is definitely becoming a social infrastructure, but by following the growth of UangTeman, we hope to learn more deeply and contribute to the social infrastructure that is really necessary for small business owners in Indonesia,” Yuji Horiguchi, CEO of Spiral Ventures.
In 2017, UangTeman had raised US$12 million Series A funding round in debt and equity, led by K2 Venture Capital.
The post UangTeman raises first tranche of US$10M Series B led by Tim Draper’s fund; to acquire a P2P startup appeared first on e27.