Indonesian SME lending platform Alami scores pre-Series B funding

Indonesian Shariah-compliant SME lending platform Alami Group has announced raising a pre-Series B funding that would further boost its financial technology.

Financial details of the funding were not disclosed but Alami said the round was led by East Ventures (Growth fund) and backed by returning investors AC Ventures, Quona Capital, and FEBE Ventures.

The pre-Series B funding round also saw the participation of US-based venture capital firm Capria Ventures, marking the firm’s first direct investment in the Asia-Pacific region.

Founded by 2018 by Dima Djani, Harza Sandityo, and Bembi Juniar, Alama is a Shariah-based financial technology peer-to-peer lending company. It has disbursed more than $200 million with non-performing finance of 0% as per last month.

The platform currently has more than 111,000 peer-to-peer investors involved in almost 10,000 projects across the nation focused on exponential growth of Indonesian SMEs. Alami’s ecosystem covers 482 cities in 34 provinces across Indonesia, both from the side of funders and beneficiaries, with ongoing commercial and social activities.

With this investment, Alami plans to continue creating world class Sharia-compliant financial technology. It also has invested in Hijra Bank, with the hope to serve more than 59 million SMEs and hundred million of Muslims with more committed digital apps to fulfill their banking needs.

“This pre-series B Round is a strong validation that investors acknowledge the positive impact ALAMI is creating in Indonesia’s market. We see the tremendous long-term potential that access to banking and Sharia-compliant financing from our Hijra Bank can unlock for Indonesia’s 230 million Muslim and SMEs,” said Djani.

As Indonesian SMEs recover from the pandemic, the demand vs supply deficit for finance needed by SMEs still stands at $108 billion to resolve this challenge, peer-to-peer lending has emerged as a revolutionary financial lending solution which is quick, convenient and reliable.

“We are glad to double down our investment in ALAMI and continue to be part of Alami’s journey in revolutionizing the Sharia finance industry in Indonesia. With more than 230 million Muslims in Indonesia, Sharia finance is one of the fastest growing sectors within the banking industry,” said Roderick Purwana, managing partner at East Ventures.