After Obtaining Series B Funding, Friends' Money Immediately Expands to the Philippines

Micro lending startup Uang Teman is currently processing its expansion plan to the Philippines this year after obtaining series B funding which is in the process of being finalized. One of the reasons the Philippines was chosen as the first expansion site was its demographic similarity with Indonesia.

The founder and CEO of Uang Teman, Aidil Zulkifli, said that this expansion is the first time the company has carried out since its establishment in April 2015. His party will cooperate with local partners who understand the conditions there. The brand used will also be different. The business model used will be the same as what Money Friends do, namely micro online loans.

"We are in the process of funding series B. It will be announced at the end of July or early August. We will use the funds for business expansion," Aidil said to DailySocial.

Although not yet willing to disclose the value obtained and the identity of the investors, Aidil ensured that there will be new investors who will enter, followed by old investors who will participate. The value is claimed to be sufficient to meet expectations, so the company is confident for regional expansion.

"The investors who spoke with us, they are very enthusiastic about our business. Plus now we have reached a profit point in April, enough to give us confidence."

As a company that has been able to make a profit, he claims the company has found the right business model so that it can reduce marketing costs. At the same time, the company is said to still be able to get a large number of customers.

Last year, Uang Teman received a series A investment of IDR 160 billion led by K2 Venture Capital, Enspire VC, Alpha JWC Ventures, and followed by a well-known figure from Silicon Valley, Tim Draper, through the investment agency Draper Associates.

The funding is used to attract more users, invest in research and product development. Money Friends also opened Data Science & Analytics Centers in Singapore and India.

Delay pivot

The company also postponed its pivot plan to become a p2p lending company from its initial business as an online micro loan. According to Aidil, this delay was due to the fact that the permit issued by the OJK had not yet been received, even though the company had already processed all the requirements.

"After getting the registration certificate, we immediately applied for a permit. But it hasn't come out yet. Because we have other priorities, we finally postponed the pivot."

In previous interview, Aidil said the old business model would be transferred to a subsidiary prepared by the company. Meanwhile, Uang Teman itself will run a p2p lending business. Thus, Money Friends will be in line with the rules that have been regulated by the OJK in accordance with POJK No. 77/2016.

Regarding the performance of Uang Teman's business so far, Aidil said the company has distributed more than IDR 500 billion as of the first half of 2018. As for this year, it is targeted to disburse loans of Rp. 1 trillion. This figure rose more than 10 times compared to last year's realization of Rp130 ​​billion.

"Now the progress is more than 50% of our target. We are still optimistic that it can be achieved," he concluded.