MCI Reportedly Provides Funding to Ayoconnect Again

Mandiri Capital Indonesia (MCI) is reportedly providing funding again to fintech startup Ayoconnect. According to data submitted to the regulator, as quoted by Alternative.PE, the value is around $2,5 million or the equivalent of 39 billion Rupiah. From this data it can also be seen that in the series B1 round the price per share was far below the previous round (downround).

DailySocial.id I have tried to confirm this news to both parties, but they are reluctant to provide an official statement.

Ayoconnect's series B fundraising has been going on since 2021. At that time it started a round pre-series B worth $10 million, participated by Mandiri Capital Indonesia, Patamar Capital, and a number of angel investors. Then in early January 2022, the company announced series B funding $15 million led by Tiger Global with participation from PayU, Alto Partners and others angel investors.

Towards the end of 2022, Ayoconnect again announced additional earnings series B . round Their $13 million valuation was led by SIG Venture Capital, followed by Innovation Capital and several previous investors, including PayU and Prosus. In total, up to this series B+ funding, Ayoconnect has managed to book equity funding worth $28 million.

Ayoconnect's performance throughout 2023

Since being founded in 2016 by Chiragh Kirpalani and Jakob Rost, Ayoconnect has emerged as a complete Open Finance API service provider, serving the Indonesian and Southeast Asian markets. The solution presented makes it easier for business owners by providing payment infrastructure with embedded finance -- allows developers to embed payment capabilities into the applications they develop.

As stated in the official release, throughout 2023 Ayoconnect will add more than 50 new clients. A number of companies that are now their clients include Bluebird, Bank Syariah Indonesia, Kredivo, JULO, SendinAja, Bank DKI, BMI Sharia Cooperative, and MNC Group.

Through this increase in customers, Ayoconnect also claims to have succeeded in driving business growth of 50% compared to the previous year. This is made possible by the launch of innovation White-Label Virtual Cards which was launched with Mastercard in January 2023 and the Instant Transfer API. These two innovations have succeeded in giving Ayoconnect a competitive advantage in the landscape fintech dynamic.

The company also had time to make efficiencies, one of which was by lay off 10% of total employees in August 2023. This decision was taken by the company as an anticipatory step to face macroeconomic conditions and efforts towards profitability.

The presence of various new financial features launched by Ayoconnect partners is also considered capable of contributing significantly to the widespread adoption of digital financial services at the national level.

Ayoconnect Founder & CEO Chiragh Kirpalani explained, “Ayoconnect's success in 2023 is proof of our commitment to innovation and collaboration. We are proud to welcome new clients into our ecosystem and look forward to continuing our journey towards a financial landscape that is more inclusive and accessible to all Indonesians.”

Chiragh is optimistic that the digital economic landscape in 2024 will improve in line with government reforms and the growth of private consumption as the main driver of economic growth. This is also supported by projections that Indonesia's digital economy is projected to reach $150 billion or the equivalent of IDR 2,333 trillion in 2025.