Finku, an Indonesia-based financial services application platform that streamlines and automates budgeting and expense tracking, has raised $2.8 million in its latest seed funding round. The round was led by B Capital Group, a multi-stage global investment firm, and co-led by Global Founders Capital and Trihill Capital. Other participants in the round include Golden Gate Ventures, Goodwater Capital, Alto partners, and the founders of companies Bukuwarung and Xendit.
Finku will utilize the funds to accelerate its expansion plans in Indonesia. The company also aims to be the first responsible lender in Indonesia by expanding its offerings to include responsible credit. It will combine low-interest rates, transparent fees, and a suite of personal finance tools to help users manage their finances and access credit responsibly. Finku will leverage the increased smartphone usage and demand for digital payment services in Indonesia to provide the best in-app financial solutions for users. The platform also seeks to bridge gaps in financial access through its digital reachability – potentially reducing rates of financial illiteracy within the country.
“To build a more financially resilient and inclusive society, people must have the access, capabilities, and independence to manage their finances regardless of their income backgrounds,” Finku’s media release stated. “With the latest funding, we will deepen our presence in Indonesia by scaling our offerings and expanding our teams to empower more Indonesians.”
Established in 2021 by co-founders Reinaldo Tendean, Shyam Kalairajah, and Shylla Estee, Finku seeks to impart greater financial access and management skills to users, regardless of their income backgrounds. The company does this through its mobile app, which automates budgeting and expenditure-tracking processes to give its users a personalized insight into their spending habits.
By enabling users to track their transactions across multiple banks, e-wallets, and investment accounts, Finku’s app streamlines the daily financial management process. The app also automatically collects and calculates various financial data to produce real-time insights. With these insights and a transparent view of their digital transactions, users can seamlessly manage their finances digitally.
“Our mission is to support the world’s most transformative tech leaders. Finku has produced a high-quality product that is digitally transforming the personal finance space, with a user-centric mobile app that is incredibly intuitive and easy-to-use for the average user,” said Ayu Tanoesoedibjo, Principal at B Capital Group. “Finku’s ability to reach hundreds and thousands of users within a few months of its launch is a testament to the team’s passion, commitment, and perseverance to achieve the company’s vision. It also shows a vast market potential for its platform. We’re excited to support this venture and can’t wait to see them achieve more milestones in the future.”
To expand on its user-focused strategies, Finku will introduce a new credit product that enables users to access credit facilities for their daily use. This credit access seeks to raise the financial capacity and capabilities of users in their daily lives.
“Finku’s ability to adapt to the technological shifts in Indonesia, as well as prioritizing the people’s real needs in their product development, has been instrumental to the company’s impressive growth. We are confident that Finku – complemented by a complete team of experts – will continue to grow. We look forward to continuing backing them in their future pursuits,” said Melvin Hade, Partner at Global Founders Capital.
“Now that Finku has established itself as a player in ensuring financial inclusion via digitalization, the company is now poised for product expansion. By offering affordable credit product schemes on their platform, we are certain that Finku will further cement itself as a champion of financial inclusion in Indonesia – an aspiration that we are fully invested in supporting them with,” said Alwyn Rusli, Investor at Trihill Capital.
Finku currently has over 350,000 users on its platform and the company was also named one of the “Early-Stage Fintech Startups from Indonesia to Follow in 2022”. The firm was also ranked among the top 7th downloaded finance apps Indonesia’s Apple Store Finance Category so far in 2022. Finku was also part of 15 startups shortlisted to participate in the Startup Studio Indonesia accelerator program, backed by Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Informatics.
B Capital’s $126.3M Ascent Fund II is geared toward supporting earlier-stage tech companies