Pintar acquires 3 firms to boost overseas job placement

Indonesian edtech startup Pintar has acquired three local companies – social edtech firm Gredu, workforce marketplace Kerja.io, and migrant worker recruitment platform Hiringmaps – to strengthen its core workforce development services. Financial details were undisclosed.

This marks the first M&A move by Pintar after raising US$3 million in February from SIG Venture Capital and Havez Capital – an investment firm headed by Imelda Harsono, who is also the vice president of Indonesian industrial gas company Samator Group.

Pintar CTO Gourav Thakkar (left) and CEO Ray Pulungan / Photo credit: Pintar

Following the acquisitions, Intudo Ventures and Vertex Ventures – Gredu’s backers – will join Pintar’s roster of investors, which already includes AppWorks and Djarum Group’s GDP Venture.

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Doubling down on cross-border

Formerly known as HarukaEdu, Pintar provides training, credentialing, and jobs placement services for Indonesian workers, including those who want to work abroad. This sets it apart from most edtech startups in Indonesia, which primarily focus on K-12 education.

According to the company, about 70% of its revenue comes from its B2B services, with clients such as Astra, Unilever, and Indomaret.

In an interview with Tech in Asia, Pintar CEO Ray Pulungan says that the three acquisitions will enable the firm to strengthen its cross-border initiatives, specifically in helping those who want to work abroad.

Hiringmaps, for instance, provides an online portal for recruiting and placing mid-skilled Indonesian migrant workers. The company is expected to help Pintar place workers globally, including in countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Germany, and Hungary. Ghahtan Said Attamimi, founder and CEO of Hiringmaps, will join Pintar to lead its cross-border placement division.

Pintar will also integrate Kerja.io into its product suite, offering its enterprise customers a network of early-career professionals as interns and mentees. Kerja.io co-founder and CEO Timothy Wijaya will join Pintar as a product design advisor.

Pintar’s training at Amman, a copper and gold mining company in Indonesia / Photo credit: Pintar

On the B2C side, the acquisition of Gredu will boost Pintar’s presence in the K-12 segment, gaining access to over 400 schools across Indonesia through the former’s network. Mohammad Rizky Anies, co-founder and CEO of Gredu, will join Pintar in a non-executive director role, while co-founder and COO Arya Budi Nugraha will head its K-12 division.

Founded in 2016, Gredu has raised a total of US$4 million in funding, with the latest round occurring in 2021.

Fundraising