Mastercard has announced that it is leading Indonesian fintech holding company Digiasia’s Series B funding round. It will provide both capital and strategic assistance as the startup looks to strengthen its services for underserved individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
“We look forward to working together to expand our reach in Indonesia and to make a range of powerful financial services available to people of all backgrounds—no matter where they are socioeconomically, or how technologically connected they are,” said Digiasia Bios co-founders Alexander Rusli and Prashant Gokarn in a statement.
The Indonesian government and its stakeholders are currently focused on driving financial inclusion in the country. At the end of 2019, the Financial Services Authority reported that the financial inclusion index had hit 76.19%, surpassing the government’s target of 75% for the year.
There has been a definite emphasis on fintech to help accelerate digital inclusion. The digitalization of commerce in Indonesia could help to add an additional USD 150 billion to Indonesia’s GDP by 2025, according to a McKinsey report.
Digiasia is currently affiliated with several fintech companies in Indonesia such as e-wallet and payment platform KasPro and SMEs-focused P2P lending and financing platform KreditPro. The company has also developed a range of partnerships that help in integrating the digital economy into the daily lives of Indonesians. For example, the company is working with a number of transport operators to allow for easy payments. Large vendors such as iRMA and Metrodata can offer B2B sales financed by KreditPro and remittance companies like Western Union and Mandiri Syariah.
“Financial inclusion is about more than just having people transact money via apps or make online purchases. It’s about finding simple mechanisms that broaden economic opportunities so that people at all levels of society can enjoy the benefits of a modernizing digital economy,” said Mastercard Southeast Asia division president of emerging markets Safdar Khan in a statement.
Other than investing in Digiasia, Mastercard has been running Mastercard academy 2.0 since the end of 2019, a program that focuses on financial inclusion by introducing digital financial skills to different segments of the Indonesian population.
