Indonesian EWA platform wagely raises $8.3m in pre-Series A funding

Wagely, an Indonesia-based earned wage access (EWA) platform, has announced raising $8.3 million in its pre-Series A funding round l ed by East Ventures (Growth Fund).

The funding, which comes in just seven months after the startup secured its seed funding, will be used to scale wagely’s platform to help workers access their earned salaries on demand in Indonesia and Bangladesh.

The oversubscribed round was led by East Ventures (Growth Fund) with participation from existing backers, including Integra Partners, the Asian Development Bank, Global Founders Capital, Trihill Capital, Blauwpark Partners, and 1982 Ventures, which brings the total funding raised to $14 million in less than two years.

wagely also disclosed that it secured the backing of Central Capital Ventura, the VC arm of Indonesia’s largest private bank, Bank Central Asia (“BCA”). The investment into wagely underpins the commitment to expand the digital financial ecosystem and drive financial wellness solutions across Indonesia.

Launched in 2020, wagely is building a holistic financial wellness platform with EWA at its core that lets workers of partner employers access their earned wages in real-time. The concept, which has been proven in several markets across the globe, has been adopted by some of the most renowned organizations, including Walmart, Pizza Hut, and Visa, to reduce turnover, enhance productivity, and increase business savings.

Founded by former Grab and Tokopedia executives, wagely witnessed strong growth across its markets as its users base grew 10x YoY in 2021 while it partnered with some of Indonesia’s largest employers including British American Tobacco, Ranch Market, Adaro Energy, and Medco Energi.

The pandemic exacerbated the financial struggles faced by lower and middle-income workers increasing the need for employers to reduce financial stress for their workers.

“With wagely’s rapid growth in recent quarters, we believe they will be the preferred partner for large enterprises that aim to challenge the status quo of worker financial wellness in Indonesia and beyond. We are excited to support Tobias, Didi, Kevin, and the wagely team, as they are changing the lives of millions of workers across Asia, where over 75% of the population lives paycheck to paycheck,” said Roderick Purwana, managing partner at East Ventures.

The new capital will enable the company to accelerate its market-leading position in Indonesia and Bangladesh and spur the development of its holistic financial wellness platform, which the company plans to start rolling out later this year.