How Indonesia’s Cermati is becoming a major force in fintech

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For a company whose valuation grew by almost 10x in four years, Cermati has mostly escaped the international spotlight. And that’s what brings us here.

The Indonesian fintech firm has attracted investors like Djarum, the local conglomerate that owns ecommerce firm Blibli and online travel agent Tiket. Both Djarum units are also Cermati’s business partners.

What’s special about Cermati is how it started out as a comparison site for financial products like insurance and personal loans and then evolved into an all-around fintech group providing lending services and more. Several financial comparison sites have tried going down this path, but not all have been successful.

In this week’s Big Story, I dissect the company’s various ventures and how they fare against competitors. Among these ventures is an uncommon “as-a-service” path that has allowed Cermati to cross-sell its core products more efficiently.

Meanwhile, for this week’s Hot Take, I look at the delayed rollout of Apple’s buy now, pay later product and why it’s unlikely to move the needle in a market like Indonesia – if it even launches here.

– Budi

THE BIG STORY

How Cermati’s valuation grew almost 10x in under 4 years

Image credit: Timmy Loen

The Indonesian company’s “as-a-service” model allows it to glue its core financial products together more efficiently.

THE HOT TAKE

Why Apple’s BNPL delay won’t disappoint Indonesians

Photo credit: Anna Hoychuk, Shutterstock

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