Indonesian P2P lender Crowde secures $1m in Mandiri Capital-led round

Crowde, an agriculture-focused peer-to-peer lending startup in Indonesia, has secured US$1 million in a pre-series A round led by Mandiri Capital Indonesia (MCI), Bank Mandiri Indonesia’s corporate venture capital unit, DailySocial reported.

Photo credit: Pxhere

Eddi Danusaputro, CEO of MCI, said that MCI views Crowde as a feasible investment target due to its focus on sectors deemed productive in Indonesia such as agriculture, fishery, and commerce. Danusaputro also noted the P2P lender’s activities, which fit the bank’s requirements and are aligned with its mission statement.

“We tend to back startups in series A, but we made an exception for Crowde because of its capacity in fulfilling Mandiri’s needs,” he said.

Aside from the funding, MCI also served as an institutional lender for credit loans through Crowde for US$7.1 million, the report said.

Crowde will use the new funds to build technologies that support farmers in the country, said Crowde CEO Yohanes Sugihtononugroho.

MCI revealed that it will soon lead another funding round for a company involved in financial management. Meanwhile, Crowde’s pre-series A round is still ongoing as the company looks to onboard more strategic investors. The total amount it’s targeting to raise is undisclosed, according to the report.

In 2018, Crowde received an undisclosed amount of investment from Gree Ventures (now Strive), Crevisse Partners, and some angel investors. It said it aims to lend to 100,000 farmers during that year.