MilikiRumah eyes $10m to bank Indonesia’s unbankable home buyers

For many of Indonesia’s non-fixed income workers, the path to home ownership is an uphill climb. Without the standard salary slips or tax documents required by traditional banks, about 58% of the country’s population is excluded from mortgage financing.

Proptech startup MilikiRumah aims to bridge this gap with its software-as-a-service platform. Initially built as an internal tool to screen candidates for its rent-to-own (RTO) program, the Jakarta-based company has begun offering the tech as a standalone service for property developers.

MilikiRumah co-founders (from left) Lao Xin Yuan, Marine Novita, and Winston Lee / Photo credit: MilikiRumah

The AI-driven platform uses over 20 alternative data points – including bank statements and cash flow patterns – to assess a borrower’s financial health. It then provides a predictive credit score within an hour.

By streamlining a process that typically takes banks two to three weeks to complete, the startup helps real estate developers salvage unbankable leads.

MilikiRumah is currently preparing for a series A funding round that’s scheduled for the first half of 2026 and aims to raise up to US$10 million, co-founder and CEO Winston Lee tells Tech in Asia.

The startup expects major VCs and strategic investors from across Southeast Asia to join the round.

A credit score “hospital”

Apart from running an RTO scheme for aspiring Indonesian home owners, MilikiRumah also functions as a “hospital” that provides different “treatments” based on a buyer’s credit health, Lee says.

The startup uses its SaaS platform internally to evaluate borrowers, leveraging AI to process the data points and predict their ability and willingness to pay. Borrowers with high scores are directed to banks to apply for a mortgage. Meanwhile, those who show potential but fall below bank thresholds are enrolled in a 12-month RTO program.

A property available under MilikiRumah’s RTO service / Photo credit: MilikiRumah

Under this scheme, prospective buyers pay rent to MilikiRumah to build a documented credit trail. After one year of consistent RTO payments, they can use this track record to apply for a traditional bank mortgage, giving their loan applications a higher chance of approval.

The company has partnered with property developers, serving as their asset manager instead of purchasing the units available under the RTO program.

For home buyers who need more than 12 months to build up their credit score, MilikiRumah has a US$50 million fund for offtaking houses from developers. The fund is backed by firms like Ruifeng Wealth Management, Tembusu Partners, and Trigger Asset Management.

Another door opens