Sharia-compliant fintech startup nets pre-seed funding from Tryb

Indonesian sharia-compliant peer-to-peer (P2P) platform Alami secured an undisclosed amount of funding in a pre-seed round led by Singapore-based venture capital firm Tryb.

From left: Alami founder and CEO Dima Djani and Tryb principal Herston Powers at Alami’s soft launch event / Photo credit: Tryb

Alami, which recently obtained a P2P registration from Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK), operates a platform for Islamic financing. It works with a number of partners, including sharia banks, to facilitate invoice financing for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Sharia-compliant financing, unlike conventional lending, does not generate income from interest as it is prohibited by Islamic law. Sharia-compliant institutions instead rely on profit and risk sharing to get returns.

“The sharia fintech market is a huge and untapped market in Indonesia with significant growth prospects,” says Tryb principal Herston Powers.

Tryb and Alami look to propel the sharia finance sector in Indonesia, which currently has the largest Muslim population in the world with about 90% of its 260 million people being Muslims.