Investree Raises Series D Funding Led by JTA Holdings, Soon to Expand to Qatar

Startups Investree announced Series D funding led by JTA International Holdings, a Qatar-based investment company. This round is still ongoing and is targeted to be completed in January 2023.

This announcement also marks JTA International Holdings' first debut for startups fintech in Indonesia. There was no mention of the target fund that Investree was aiming for in this raise. The company last announced series C pendanaan funding $24 million from BRI Ventures, MUFG Innovation Partners in April 2020.

In the event held by Investree today (14/12), Investree Co-founder and CEO Adrian A Gunadi revealed that there are many strategic plans that the company will carry out together with lead investors this time. One of them is expanding into Qatar by forming a joint venture. Product lending will be focused on financing supply chain leaders for MSMEs.

According to him, MSMEs in Qatar have the same problem as in Southeast Asia, which is difficult to get access to credit from official financial institutions. "This funding is very significant in increasing Investree's capital to realize future business expansion. Business potential financing This is not only big in ASEAN, but also in Middle East Asia because MSMEs there also have the same challenges," he said.

So far, in terms of bilateral relations between countries, discussions at the intergovernmental level (G2G) have been carried out a lot, but the investment agreement for Investree marks the first time that a Qatari investment company has funded a local digital startup.

“The discussions actually started about seven months ago. We have also met directly with JTA in Qatar. They show a serious commitment in supporting the potential of the finance and banking industry in Indonesia."

Previously, Investree was already present in two countries in Southeast Asia, viz Filipina and Thailand since 2021. In both countries, companies form joint ventures with local partners and process licenses from relevant authorities before going into full operation.

In Thailand, Investree presents two products, namely Bullet Payment Security and Installment Payment Security. Both have similarities with Invoice Financing and Working Capital Term Loans offered in Indonesia and the Philippines. The company offers added value for MSMEs for these products, including models credit scoring modern, fast funding, and transparent terms and fees.

More than just

Entering its 7th year, Investree is now not just a company , has become a business group. Recently the company introduced Business Friends and AIForesee to strengthen credit rating (credit scoring) in supporting lending to MSMEs.

AIForesee and Sahabat Bisnis are under the auspices of Investree Singapore Pte Ltd which has a different focus from the parent company.

AIForesee provides an alternative credit rating platform to support productive lending to MSMEs. The platform is here to encourage MSMEs to understand their credit scores before applying for loans to financial service institutions, including financing platforms. This service has been registered with the OJK as an organizer of Digital Financial Innovation (IKD).

This platform uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology and alternative data owned by the ecosystem. Several variables are assessed, including projected financial health from average revenue and overall turnover, indicated payment behavior and behavior on the accuracy of bill payments, as well as business relationships with customers, number of suppliers, and social media trends.

Meanwhile, Sahabat Bisnis (SABI) is a platform lending-as-a-service (LaaS) which provides integrated loan access to Micro and Small Enterprises (UMK). SABI wants to bridge the MSE ecosystem that needs capital support with financing institutions.

SABI also facilitated business health check to check the 'health' of the MSEs' business and credit assessment. His collaboration with AIForesee in the Investree Group ecosystem is a form of strengthening initiatives in providing integrated business solutions for MSMEs.

As for its main business as fintech lending, as of October 2022, Investree has managed to record a total loan facility of IDR 15,6 trillion and a loan value of IDR 12,14 trillion with an average yield rate of 16.3% per year.

As for this loan portfolio, some came from the creative sector with a percentage of IDR 1,29 trillion. Growth in this sector is said to be quite promising, when accumulated from 2015, the total number of loans disbursed reached IDR 1,63 trillion for 327 borrowers. Its business fields range from advertising and digital agencies, production houses, creative consultancies, fashion to food and beverage.