Indonesia’s latest unicorn Ajaib to drive financial inclusion for unbanked

Ajaib unicorn
Image by DecoDesign | Bigstockphoto

Ajaib, an online stocks and mutual funds platform, became Indonesia’s latest unicorn this week after raising $153 million in a Series B funding round led by DST Global.

Since January of this year, Ajaib has accumulated $243 million in total funding, taking it past the $1 billion mark. The latest round will hire more employees, upgrade the Ajaib app, and launch financial education campaigns targeting first-time investors.

The company took two and a half years to achieve unicorn status, making it the fastest company to be a unicorn in Indonesia. Other funding participants included Ribbit Capital, Softbank Venture Asia, Insignia Ventures Partners, ICONIQ Capital, Horizons Ventures, and Alpha JWC Ventures.

In 2019, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) Financial Literacy and Inclusion Survey showed that financial literacy reached 38.03% and financial inclusion index 76.19% in Indonesia, both of which are still relatively low. The Indonesian government has embarked on initiatives to achieve a 90% score on the financial inclusion index within the next five years.

The Indonesian government targets higher financial literacy rates for its citizens so that they can better prepare themselves for setbacks such as unemployment or debt crises.

Meanwhile, the government also benefits from a higher financial inclusion rate through reduced corruption, less tax evasion, and more effective subsidy payouts.

Ajaib shares the same goal in attaining sustainable financial inclusion through promoting financial literacy among Indonesians.

“Our mission is to welcome a new generation of investors to modern financial services. Indonesia still has only 1% stock investor penetration. We’re just beginning to realize our mission,” said Anderson Sumarli Ajaib, chief operating officer, Ajaib, in a Forbes report.

Ajaib’s app aims to educate new investors to become better and smarter traders. Ajaib Alert sends real-time updates on stock movements that notify users of the best time to buy more stocks or cut losses. Competitive rankings and news highlights guide users in deciding which stock to invest in.

In addition, the app is focused on making stock investing more accessible, especially for first-time investors. New users can register through the app without meeting agents and going through a lengthy verification process.

In recent months, Indonesia’s booming tech sector has caught the attention of investors, resulting in massive funding in tech companies, including Ajaib.

Related article: Blibli earns unicorn status, seals Indonesia’s tech supremacy in SE Asia

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