WASHINGTON, D.C., June 18, 2024 — Global nonprofit Accion today announced a $17.5M equity investment from the Accion Digital Transformation Fund in Indonesian microfinance technology company, Amartha. The investment aims to help deliver Amartha’s ambition of building a platform providing a full suite of financial products and services to underserved women-led small businesses in mainly rural areas across Indonesia by harnessing the power of data and AI.
Amartha has developed a comprehensive digital financial infrastructure that connects microbusinesses in Tier 2 and 3 cities outside of Java Island. By incorporating an embedded lending and funding model for both institutional and retail investors, Amartha streamlines personalized financial solutions that resonate with their customers. Amartha also offers payment services and a proprietary credit scoring system, providing a highly integrated microfinance technology option for digitizing Indonesia’s grassroots communities. To date, Amartha has disbursed working capital of over 25 trillion Indonesian rupiah (US$1.6 billion) to over 2.5 million women-led businesses in rural and peri-urban areas of Java, Sumatra, Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi, and Kalimantan.
Amartha’s cross border funding platform provides access to capital to grassroots businesses, while also representing small businesses as an alternative investment instrument to institutional investors that is both profitable and impactful. In addition to investment capital, Accion Digital Transformation Fund will provide strategic support to strengthen customer engagement, operational efficiency, and product innovation using digital technologies.
Managed by Accion Impact Management, the Accion Digital Transformation Fund builds on Accion’s experience supporting banks and finance companies around the world to connect millions of people and small businesses to the digital economy. Investments from the $152.5 million fund focus on companies serving micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across South and Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa, providing growth capital and strategic support for digital transformation.
Njord Andrewes, Managing Partner of Accion Transformation Capital and member of Amartha’s Board of Commissioners, said: “Through its unique business model and marketplace platform, we believe Amartha is in a prime position to connect many women-led small businesses across Indonesia to responsible financial services for the first time. We are partnering with Amartha to provide both strategic support and growth capital, as they work to reach new clients in underserved areas using digital technologies.”
This latest investment positions Amartha to increase its product offerings in the MSMEs sector, strengthen its advanced audience analytics system, and drive adoption of its digital services, connecting many more people and small businesses to responsible financial services.
Ramdhan Anggakaradibrata, Chief Financial Officer of Amartha said: “Amartha and Accion have shared objectives — reducing inequality in access to financial services. The latest funding from Accion Digital Transformation Fund will help strengthen our ability to leverage the power of data and AI. We will not only meet the current needs of our customers but also anticipate future trends and challenges. This approach will help us remain at the forefront of fintech innovation, continually evolving to provide cutting-edge financial solutions that empower our customers and drive sustainable growth.”
About Accion
Accion is a global nonprofit on a mission to create a fair and inclusive economy for the nearly two billion people who are failed by the global financial system. We develop and scale responsible digital financial solutions for small business owners, smallholder farmers, and women, so they can make informed decisions and improve their lives. Through targeted investment strategies, advisory solutions, and expert thought leadership, we work with local partners to develop and scale cheaper, more accessible, and customer-friendly financial solutions. Since 1961, Accion has helped build more than 230 financial service providers serving low-income clients in 75 countries, reaching more than 350 million people. More at www.accion.org.
About Accion Impact Management
Accion Impact Management is Accion’s platform for impact investments in financial inclusion leveraging third-party capital. It is a registered investment advisor with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Please note that registration with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Accion Impact Management is staffed by a team of expert investment professionals, working to harness the capital markets to seek to provide high-quality and affordable financial services to people who are currently excluded from the financial system. More at www.accion.org/accionimpactmanagement.
About Amartha
Amartha is a microfinance technology company. It leverages innovative technology and partnership to build an ecosystem for the grassroots economy serving women-led micro and SMEs, merchants, institutional banking, retail investors, and startups. By specifically targeting segments considered too small and remote for conventional banking systems, Amartha has become a pivotal force in supporting these underserved communities by providing affordable and flexible working capital loans. Originally established as a microfinance institution in 2010, Amartha emerged into a technology company in 2016. Today, it stands as a leading digital financial service provider in Indonesia, specializing in a diverse range of financial solutions for the “bottom of the pyramid” segment. Having disbursed over US$1.6 billion in working capital to more than 2.5 million women-led Micro and Small Enterprises across 72,000 villages in Indonesia, Amartha’s impactful reach continues to grow. Explore further at www.amartha.com/en/.
Media contact
Thessa Mooij
Director of Public Relations
Phone +1.917.631.2518