Singapore’s Helicap, Bank Danamon team up to support Indonesian fintech

Left to right: Helicap co-founders Quentin Vanoekel and David Z. Wang, Danamon enterprise banking business head Andi Syaiful Wahdi, and Danamon enterprise banking team head Rex William Taylor / Photo credit: Helicap

Helicap, a Singapore-based alternative lending startup, has teamed up with Indonesia’s Bank Danamon to become a “one-stop solution for non-dilutive growth capital.”

In a statement, the companies said they aim to cater to the debt financing needs of nonbank firms in Indonesia, “from seed funding to IPO.” Targets include fintech businesses, alternative lenders, and MSMEs across segments like ecommerce and supply chain.

The partnership combines Helicap’s “credit expertise and resources with Danamon’s extensive reach and banking know-how,” noted David Z. Wang, Helicap’s co-founder and CEO.

Through the deal, Helicap give its borrowers access to Danamon’s range of services while driving transaction volume and customer count for the bank. Helicap will also combine its technology with the bank’s infrastructure via Danamon Cash Connect, which is focused on business banking.

The two also aim to co-lend to chosen investees.

Established in 2018, Helicap connects global investors – including family offices, high-net-worth individuals, impact funds, and institutional investors – to private debt opportunities across Southeast Asia. The company said it has deployed more than US$250 million in capital since its founding.

Bank Danamon, which went public in 1989, was acquired by Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in 2019. The bank earned net profits of US$219 million out of US$902 billion in net revenues in 2022.