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Led by Mandiri Capital Indonesia, Amartha’s latest round also sees participation by Lynx Asia Partners, Beenext, and Midplaza Holding

A fruit stall in Bali, Indonesia

Indonesian P2P lending platform for unbankable society Amartha today announced that it has raised “seven digit” US Dollar in Series A round led by Mandiri Capital Indonesia (MCI).

Lynx Asia Partners, with previous investors Beenext and Midplaza Holding, also took part in this round.

Amartha plans to use the new funding to expand their coverage by creating mini-branch across Java and Bali, which they aim to complete by end of 2017.

Having had disbursed “more than” IDR68 billion (US$5 million) to 30,000 women who owns small businesses, the startup aims to disburse US$30 million to 100,000 borrowers by end of the year, with 10,000 active lenders on board.

It also claimed to have succeeded in maintaining a zero per cent failure rate for seven years in a row.

Also Read: In 2016, fintech remained a foreign concept in Indonesia -but there is hope

“Aspiring borrowers usually need capital to open up a warung (stalls) or for fish farming. Through the Amartha platform, we were able to help them secure loans ranging from IDR3 million (US$224) to IDR10 million (US$749),” said Amartha Founder and CEO Andi Taufan Garuda Putra in a press statement.

“The number might be considered small but we believe that with the right approaches, we will be able to open up opportunities to improve wellfare for Indonesians living in the lower end of the social pyramid,” he added.

More fintech startups in Southeast Asia are working to help improve financial inclusion in the region’s developing economies. Today, a mobile remittance pilot project to reach unbankable societies has also gotten approval by the Philippine Central Bank. The project is a result of partnership between Australian fintech startup Peppermint Innovations and local finance company MyWeps International.

In its US$700 million-worth of master plan for the Indonesian market, ride-hailing giant Grab also cited plans to dig deeper into financial inclusion through GrabPay and financing plans for driver-partners.

P2P lending platform in the country includes Modalku, GandengTangan, Investree, KoinWorks, and Crowdo.

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Image Credit: project1photography / 123RF Stock Photo

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