Indonesia Weekly Review : 3 Archipelago Startup Stories You Don’t Want To Miss This Week [6 March – 11 March]

Indonesian startup ecosystem is a tricky yet lucrative market. The country is rapidly adopting technology which has led to a booming startup ecosystem.

Here’s our dedicated weekly review of the startup scene in the archipelago.

P2P Startup Amartha Secures Funding

Indonesia-based P2P lending platform for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Amartha has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Mandiri Capital Indonesia, the investment handle of Mandiri bank.

Other investors who participated in the round include existing backers Beenext and Midplaza Holding with Lynx Asia Partners.

As per a Deal Street Asia report, the funding will be used to scale its business, optimise technology as well as improve its product line.

The startup was launched in 2010 as a microfinance institution and pivoted to a P2P lending platform in 2016. It has developed a credit score software with which borrowers will receive a credit rating and develop a credit history which they can leverage when applying for future financing.

Go-Jek Widens Payments Ecosystem, Lets Users Transfer Ecash

Indonesia’s ride hailing and logistics giant Go-Jek has introduced a new feature on its app which allows users to transfer their Go-Pay credits to each other without any added charges.

The service is not open to all the Go-Jek users currently.

As per a TechinAsia report, users will be able to withdraw Go-Pay credit as cash from banks in the coming future as well. Users who want to avail this service are required to get their IDs updated with their pictures on Go-Jek profiles.

Indonesian Government To Put A Price Cap On Cab Aggregators Fare

As per a Jakarta Globe report, Indonesian government is planning to set a fare cap on online ride hailing services. The move aims at regulating these businesses.

As per the report, the cap will be determined seasonally, and will be in accordance with the fares of the other available modes of public transport.

In addition to the fare cap, the proposed regulations also demand companies like Uber, Grab, and Go-Jek to pay transportation taxes to the government.