Small stakes, giant leaps?

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Hello reader,

When I was still in school, some of my more financially savvy friends urged me to invest my money instead of leaving it in a bank account. Knowing that I was essentially living from allowance to allowance, my friends suggested that I “start small” as it was more important to begin early. Alas, I did not follow through on their advice because I was too lazy to do research and my finances were stretched too thinly.

However, that’s not a mistake most businesses will make (hopefully). Even if the amount is small, backing the right ventures can often lead to outstanding rewards. In today’s story, we discuss how Modalku and Carro are doing just that with their investment in Jakarta-based Bank Index.

Today we look at:

• Modalku and Carro’s “small minority stake” in Bank Index
• An injection of capital for a climate-focused VC fund
• Other newsy highlights such as Yield Guild Games’ asset growth and Grab’s new home clearing services in Singapore

Premium summary

Banking on Bank Index

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Indonesia-based Modalku and used-car platform Carro have acquired a “small minority stake” in Jakarta-based Bank Index, multiple sources confirmed to Tech in Asia. The move comes shortly after Modalku – a digital financing platform for MSMEs – and its Singapore counterpart Funding Societies raised US$144 million in series C funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2.

• Moving into digital: The two tech startups seem to share digital banking ambitions. Modalku CEO Reynold Wijaya said that the company plans to use part of its series C funding for its neobank plans, while Carro recently invested in Indonesia’s Bank Allo.

• Shared backing: Modalku and Carro also have another thing in common: counting Alpha JWC Ventures as a major investor. This link provides a possible explanation for their interest in Bank Index: Eko Kurniadi, a partner at the VC firm, was previously the vice president of investment at private equity company Creador Capital, which in turn owns about 20% of Bank Index. However, it remains unclear whether Alpha JWC Ventures was involved in this deal.

• In good company: The investment puts Modalku and Carro in the company of Kazanah Indexindo, Bank Index’s majority owner. The nearly 30-year-old bank reported 367 billion rupiah (US$255.6 million) in revenue and 90 billion rupiah (US$6.3 million) in profits for 2018.

Read more: Exclusive: Modalku, Carro invest in Indonesia’s Bank Index, sources say

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