Bibit, one of the leading digital investment apps in Indonesia, announced Wednesday that it has raised more than $80 million in a funding round led by GIC Private Limited (GIC), joined by Prosus Ventures and other existing investors.

The funds raised will be used for the launch of new products and services, tech development, acquiring top talent from the country, and strengthening the company’s financial education programs to create an investing-aware culture among the general public, Bibit said in a statement.

Having started as a platform for investors to share stock-investing ideas, news, and information in real-time, Stockbit launched Bibit in early 2019. A pioneering mutual fund robo-advisory investment app in Indonesia, Bibit continues to focus on building innovative products and services to democratize investing in the country’s capital market, as well as enabling its users to invest in diversified asset classes.

To date, Bibit has enabled millions of investors – mostly millennials and first-time investors – in 500 cities across the archipelago to build investment portfolios based on their risk profiles and investment goals in a safe, simple and seamless way.

The company has achieved several milestones in the past year, including the launch of Stockbit Sekuritas, e-initial public offering (IPO) feature that allows users to participate in a 100 percent online IPO process, Stockbit Academy providing stock market education from experienced financial mentors for free, and being appointed by the Ministry of Finance Republic of Indonesia as a distribution partner to sell the government securities (SBN) in early 2022.

“We believe that everyone deserves a better future. We are here to enable Indonesians to participate in the capital market and help people achieve their financial goals through the right investment. We are thrilled to welcome GIC as a new investor and delighted to have the support from our existing investor partners to accelerate this mission,” said Bibit Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Sigit Kouwagam.

Based on IDX and Central Custodian data, Bibit said the number of mutual fund investors in Indonesia grew 80.3 percent year on year from 4.41 million in April 2021 to 7.95 million in April 2022, while in the same period the number of stock investors has reached 3.83 million with 66.7 percent of growth. This growth was primarily contributed by retail investors, with more than half of the investors choosing Bibit and Stockbit as their investment apps. Despite this rapid growth, however, less than 4 percent of Indonesians have participated in the capital market so far.

GIC is a leading global investment firm established in 1981 to secure Singapore’s financial future. As the manager of Singapore’s foreign reserves, it takes a long-term, disciplined approach to investing, and are uniquely positioned across a wide range of asset classes and active strategies globally. These include equities, fixed income, real estate, private equity, venture capital, and infrastructure.

Its long-term approach, multi-asset capabilities, and global connectivity enable the firm to be an investor of choice. It seeks to add meaningful value to its investments. Headquartered in Singapore, it has a global talent force of over 1,800 people in ten key financial cities and have investments in over 40 countries.

Prosus is a global consumer internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world. Operating and investing globally in markets with long-term growth potential, it builds leading consumer internet companies that empower people and enrich communities. The group is focused on building meaningful businesses in the online classifieds, food delivery, payments and fintech, and education technology sectors.

Through the Prosus Ventures team, the group invests in new technology growth opportunities within logistics, fintech, health, blockchain, social and ecommerce platforms, agriculture and more. The team actively backs exceptional entrepreneurs who are using technology to improve people’s everyday lives. Each month, more than two billion customers across the globe use the products and services of companies that Prosus has invested in, acquired or built.

Indonesian AI investment advisor app Bibit secures $30M in Series A round