Mastercard-backed fintech firm DigiAsia on track for US listing at $500m valuation

Only six years since its inception, Indonesia-based fintech firm DigiAsia Bios has accomplished several noteworthy feats, including securing the support of major investors, enlisting former top government officials as part of its team, and most recently, finalizing a SPAC merger deal to go public in the US.

In 2020, Mastercard injected US$25 million in series B funding into the company, with a post-money valuation of US$225 million. Another investor is Reliance Capital Management (RCM), which led a US$14.5 million round before DigiAsia’s merger agreement with blank-check company StoneBridge last December.

Both Mastercard and RCM are existing shareholders in DigiAsia, and all shareholders are expected to roll all of their equity into the combined entity, which currently has a pre-money valuation of half a billion dollars.

(From left) Rully Hariwinata, DigiAsia chief marketing officer; Joseph Lumban Gaol, DigiAsia chief of digital ecosystem integration; Arman Bhariadi, CEO of RemitPro / Photo credit: DigiAsia

After the merger deal, investment manager Yorkville Global Advisors entered into a standby equity purchase agreement with DigiAsia to provide up to US$100 million of equity financing, including an advance of US$30 million.

If the public listing – which is scheduled for the second quarter of this year – goes through, the combined entity could raise up to US$200 million. The firm intends to use this to fund a customer and ecosystem buildout, new product development, expansion with current customers, and monetization of data in its ecosystem.

DigiAsia confirmed with Tech in Asia that there have been no major obstacles to its SPAC plans so far and that the listing remains on track.

With the capital raised, the company intends to swiftly expand into Southeast Asia and establish itself as a prominent player in two segments: white-label digital wallets and banking as a service.

“We are highly confident in our model, especially with the improving microeconomy in Indonesia and the potential of our solutions being embraced domestically,” says Joseph Lumban Gaol, DigiAsia chief of digital ecosystem integration.

Trailblazing embedded finance

DigiAsia was founded in 2017 by Alexander Rusli and Prashant Gokarn, former executives of Indonesian telco Indosat. The fintech firm claims to be the first mover in the country’s embedded finance-as-a-service industry.

With this model, the company can integrate its entire range of products and services into any platform, making it easier for corporate partners and consumers to adopt fintech solutions.

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It operates a B2B strategy, with the end beneficiaries being individual customers and merchants. Apart from e-wallet and banking licenses, it has also secured approval to provide peer-to-peer lending and remittance solutions. Its four affiliates are KasPro for e-money, KreditPro for lending, RemitPro for remittances, and DigiBos for digital financial services.

DigiAsia works hand in hand with finance providers to tap into uncharted business segments that are constrained by cost efficiency, regulation, and risk appetite, says chief marketing officer Rully Hariwinata. The firm’s goal is not to disrupt these businesses’ operations and supply chains, but to build something on top of them, he adds.

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