Grab leads latest funding round in Indonesia’s Bareksa

Grab has led the Series C funding round in Bareksa, the Indonesian integrated digital investment platform, according to reports.

Financial details of the funding round were not disclosed. Bareksa said Grab’s investment will help the Indonesian platform gain access to its users and partners. In turn, this will offer Grab mutual fund investment opportunities with payments handled by OVO.

The recent capital funding will help to strengthen the synergy between Grab, Bareksa, and OVO as Indonesia’s leading digital payment platform.

Karaniya Dharmasaputra, co-founder and CEO of Bareksa, added that the funding will “further strengthen” their presence as the first integrated online mutual fund marketplace in Indonesia.

“By synergizing with Grab and OVO, Bareksa will be able to provide wider access, educate the benefits of investment and provide a seamless e-investment experience to millions of driver-partners, kiosk owners, and MSMEs, as well as Grab and OVO users,” he explained.

In 2019, Bareksa also raised Series B funding from OVO.

Karaniya, president director of OVO, also said the collaboration of the three companies is “expected to increase its contribution in helping to encourage financing of the national economy”.

With the full support of Grab and OVO, he added that Bareksa can further support the vision of the Indonesian government and regulators, particularly the Indonesian Financial Services Authority and Bank Indonesia, in expanding national capital market services while increasing financial literacy and inclusion.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of capital market investors increased. The penetration rate of mutual funds in Indonesia was at 3 percent of the GDP in 2020.

According to data from the Indonesian Central Securities Depository (KSEI), there were 6 million capital market investors until August 2021.

Throughout 2020, KSEI said, 70 percent of retail investors bought mutual funds through the fintech platform.

Established in 2013, Bareksa was the first online mutual fund marketplace built in Indonesia and the first fintech firm appointed by the finance ministry to sell Indonesian government bonds online.