Jakarta, March 16, 2022 – Micro-retailers across Indonesia are set to gain greater access to finance and operational support to help them grow their business under a partnership between AwanTunai and IFC, providing a vital boost amid the lingering economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, invested $5 million in equity to finance AwanTunai, a supply chain-focused lending platform operating in Indonesia's fast-moving-consumer-goods (FMCG) sector. This investment is seen as bolstering growth opportunities for micro-retailers -- many of them women – who are part of an industry made up of some 30,000 wholesalers and three million merchants, and a market worth $80 billion in FMCG trade.
"We see this investment as well as further finance secured in our recent funding round as key to building SaaS solutions in supply chain infrastructure that can be a huge support to the tens of thousands of traditional micro retailers and small businesses that rely on our platform," said AwanTunai Chief Executive Officer, Dino Setiawan. "Digitization enables our institutional banking partners to access our micro and SME customers. The technology AwanTunai is developing via our AwanToko mobile app not only provides access to affordable institutional working capital but may also encourage the Indonesian banking industry to look to reach millions of micro-small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that have previously been difficult to serve," he said.
AwanTunai provides a holistic digital supply chain solution which integrates financing, order management and payment into one platform allowing it to meet the operational needs of wholesalers and merchants. AwanTunai has already worked with hundreds of supplier partners to help traditional wholesalers digitize and finance their operations, while providing the MSMEs they cover, including traditional mom and pop stores, with affordable inventory purchase financing and integrated online ordering via the AwanToko mobile app.
To date, AwanTunai has served over 70,000 micro merchant users across the Indonesian archipelago, with an increasing number of users coming from major cities across the island of Java.
"The MSME sector is in many ways the lifeblood of the Indonesian economy, providing millions of jobs, and more importantly, a key income stream for female entrepreneurs," said IFC Country Manager for Indonesia and Timor-Leste, Azam Khan. "But growth of this vital sector has been hampered by a lack of access to finance, and more recently the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This investment will provide much-needed support to micro-retailers, while helping them to modernize and grow their businesses."
In addition to the significant equity investment, IFC will be providing AwanTunai with advisory support, including innovation and capacity building. As a leading fintech investor in emerging markets with an extensive portfolio in payment and credit platforms, IFC will advise and support AwanTunai's management on key strategic decisions regarding the growth and management of its operations over time, as well as the development of a new governance structure.
IFC anticipates that the investment will also promote greater inclusiveness in Indonesia's financial sector by demonstrating the viability of providing credit to underserved segments such as MSMEs.
About IFC
IFC—a member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2021, IFC committed a record $31.5 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
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About AwanTunai
AwanTunai is a business solutions platform for traditional offline wholesalers and merchants, digitizing inventory ordering, payment, customer management, with its licensed fintech platform providing inventory purchase financing to FMCG suppliers and micro grocery merchants. The AwanToko micro merchant mobile app orders and finances inventory purchases digitally. The platform enables Indonesia's unbanked micro SMEs to access low-cost institutional working capital, by facilitating AwanTunai's partner banks to fund these micro SMEs. Founded by Dino Setiawan, Rama Notowidigdo, and Windy Natriavi. For more information, visit www.awantunai.co.id
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