Can Julo’s 2 million users help it succeed in Indonesia’s student financing industry?

While several players have exited Indonesia’s student financing sector, Julo is entering the space.

The East Ventures-backed fintech platform has introduced Julo Education in its app. The product aims to serve over 50 million students across more than 250,000 educational institutions in the country.

Julo Education is the latest addition to the company’s array of services, which include cash loans, pay-later options, and bill payments.

This push comes as Julo surpassed US$100 million in sales and inches closer to profitability this year, according to an industry source with knowledge of the matter.

Julo’s group president Ankur Mehrotra said the company’s revenue has grown tenfold from January 2020, but he declined to give exact figures.

He added that Julo’s total loan disbursements have reached approximately US$1 billion, with a significant portion disbursed in the last 24 months.

Kosuke Mori (left), senior managing executive officer and head of global business at Credit Saison, and Adrianus Hitijahubessy, CEO and co-founder of Julo / Photo credit: Julo

Expanding into the student financing sector will allow Julo to get a foothold in a market that has substantial growth potential.

However, the company will need to get its business model right to compete with the remaining players while avoiding the fate of other diversified lending platforms that have left the space.

Industry exits

Previously, Tech in Asia reported that the education fintech market in Indonesia had the potential to exceed US$1 billion.

However, the industry has proved hard to crack. KoinPintar, the student loan service of local fintech company KoinWorks, ceased operations in April.

This was shortly after Pintek, another Indonesian fintech firm, redirected its focus from student loan services to business financing.

Meanwhile, DanaDidik is operating at reduced capacity and has temporarily halted new financing disbursements, as indicated on its website.

See also: As digibanks rise, will Indonesia’s online lenders become obsolete?

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