Lendable bullish on SEA fintech, Pintek less keen on student financing

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Hi there,

When I was in my teens, I saw many women in my neighborhood grapple to make ends meet and constantly search for loan sharks to solve their financial problems. Nowadays, there are so many other options available that it makes me wonder how they would have benefitted if they had access to a financial platform instead.

Today, companies like Amartha help improve financial inclusion in remote parts of Indonesia. The startup, which began as a microfinance provider in 2010 before transforming itself into a fintech firm in 2016, has channeled working capital to support the microenterprises of women across thousands of villages in Indonesia.

Lendable, a global debt finance provider, is also on a mission to bring more gender equality into funding, prompting it to infuse US$50 million into Amartha in 2021. Amartha is among the Indonesian fintech firms to receive investments from Lendable, and we can certainly expect more deals as the latter is doubling down on Southeast Asia.

In this week’s Big Story, my colleague Melissa discusses the reasons behind Lendable’s positive outlook on the region, which has shown resilience in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine conflict. She also observes how loss rates in Asia have gone down to pre-pandemic levels.

Meanwhile, for this week’s Hot Take, I dig into how another Indonesian lending platform, Pintek, has shifted its focus from student loans to business financing and what that says about the education fintech industry.

— Budi

THE BIG STORY

Fresh off $110m raise, Lendable eyes ‘huge opportunity’ among SEA fintech firms

Image credit: Timmy Loen

The London-based debt financier has deployed approximately US$150 million to Southeast Asian fintech firms – such as Fazz and F88 – to date.

THE HOT TAKE

Indonesia turns out to be a complicated market for student financing

NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

FYI