Indonesia microfinance player Amartha raises $100m

Amartha, which offers financial literacy education, entrepreneurship training, and loans of IDR 3m-IDR 10m (USD 200-USD 667) will distribute the capital to micro and small to medium-sized enterprises (MSME) across Indonesia. It claims ethics and transparency are priorities.

More than IDR 12trn has been channelled to around 1.6m MSMEs since the company’s inception in 2010. This activity involves peer-to-peer lending and end-to-end loan management, including origination, disbursement, and repayment support, as well as a credit scoring system specifically designed for un-bankable individuals.

Amartha has been profitable for the past three years, according to a statement. It received a USD 28m VC round in 2021 led by US non-profit Women’s World Banking with support from MDI Ventures, Mandiri Capital Indonesia, and UOB Venture Management. Later that year, Norwegian sovereign wealth fund Norfund provided USD 7.5m in equity funding.

Last May, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) approved a loan of USD 25m to the company and said it would mobilize resources to help it raise an additional USD 150m. Earlier investors include Mandiri Capital Indonesia, Line Ventures, Beenext Capital, Lynx Asia Partners, Medco Intidinamika, Teladan Utama, MidPlaza Holding, and Bamboo Capital Partners.

CIM targets financial technology businesses that deliver positive social impact, especially credit providers owned by women, people of colour, or military veterans serving markets that are underserved by traditional banks. This is its first investment in Southeast Asia. CIM’s emerging markets strategy is led by Bernhard Eikenberg, who previously headed a fintech fund for Bamboo.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Financials
• Technology
• Credit
• Indonesia
• Financial Services
• Fintech
• SME
• Impact investment