Finfra, the leading Indonesian lending infrastructure provider, has announced a major partnership with Tyme Group, the multi-country digital banking group behind TymeBank in South Africa and GoTyme Bank in the Philippines.
The partnership, the first of its kind in Indonesia, will support Tyme Group’s expansion into the country as part of its broader Southeast Asia growth strategy, following the successful launches in the Philippines and Vietnam. The announcement follows Finfra’s recent $2.5 million funding round, led by Cento Ventures, with participation from Accion Venture Lab, Z Venture Capital, Matiss Ansviesulis (founder of Avafin), and existing investors.
Indonesia, the largest economy in Southeast Asia, boasts a vibrant SME sector that is rapidly digitalizing. By the end of the year, 24 million micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are expected to be online or using digital services out of the country’s total 64 million. The government aims to accelerate this transformation, targeting 30 million digitalized businesses by 2025. As this digital transformation accelerates, so does the demand for accessible credit. One of the most effective ways to meet this demand is through embedded lending, where digital platforms integrate credit products directly into their customer transactions. This model has proven successful in various markets and, as alternative lending resurges, embedded lending offers a more sustainable, scalable, and less risky solution than traditional methods.
Building on this momentum, Finfra’s platform allows non-financial platforms to easily integrate lending, unlocking new revenue streams and better serving their user base. Its comprehensive, API-driven infrastructure offers a full loan management system, scoring, portfolio analytics, and access to debt capital, while ensuring regulatory compliance through its licensed affiliate. International lenders like Tyme can leverage Finfra’s platform to scale embedded lending solutions, such as merchant cash advances, in Indonesia. By doing so, they can not only meet the growing credit needs of underserved businesses but also foster broader financial access in the country.
Markus Prommik, CEO and Co-founder of Finfra, said: “Partnering with Tyme Group is a key milestone that validates our thesis and allows us to work with almost any digital platform that wants to embed lending. As more businesses embed lending services and products, and lenders eye the Indonesian market, our platform’s ability to connect both sides is transformative. This collaboration, supported by our investors, puts us on the path to profitability and strengthens our mission to drive financial inclusion and expand sustainable financing options in Indonesia.”
Coen Jonker, Executive Chairman at Tyme Group, said: “Southeast Asia is a central part of Tyme Group’s growth strategy, and Indonesia has long been a goal for our Group. Partnering with Finfra allows us to tap into Indonesia’s immense SME segment by leveraging their robust embedded lending infrastructure and network within digital platforms. This collaboration not only accelerates our mission of driving financial access but also enables us to offer innovative lending solutions to a broader audience of businesses and consumers in the region at an unprecedented speed.”
Finfra has significantly enhanced its platform with substantial upgrades, including an advanced API suite for seamless client onboarding, management and servicing. The platform allows Finfra’s clients to make better credit decisions with tools like in-house credit reports, a partner portal, and portfolio analytics to support responsible loan book growth. To drive further platform development, Finfra recently appointed Hadi Tanzil, former co-founder of EmpatKali and Xendit alumnus, as Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
Boon Ping Chua, Partner at Cento Ventures, said: “Finfra’s embedded lending model is perfectly timed for Indonesia’s digital economy that has produced hundreds if not thousands of industry-specific platforms that tend to find themselves in position to identify high value lending opportunities. Launching nuanced embedded credit products on top of such platforms however requires compliant and efficient infrastructure. The Finfra team has just the right vision and execution precision to deliver this infrastructure and to connect local non-financial platforms to cutting edge global players such as Tyme Bank.”
Rahil Rangwala, Managing Partner at Accion Venture Lab, said: “Across all the markets we invest in, we consistently see SMEs and consumers on digital platforms have an unmet need for credit. By building the lending backbone for digital platforms in sectors like e-commerce, agritech, and logistics, Finfra enables platforms to offer more accessible and sustainable credit solutions to their users. With lower servicing costs and stronger governance, lenders can design new products to profitably and responsibly serve customers who are currently excluded from the financial system.
With this funding round, Finfra has raised a total of $4.3 million to date. Since its last fundraise, Finfra has doubled its client base and expects to more than double its quarterly gross profit in Q4 2024 compared to Q4 2023. To date, the company has facilitated over $65 million in credit to underserved Indonesian businesses and business owners. The company is preparing for its next stage of growth and will leverage the new funds to expand onboarding capabilities for its growing customer pipeline, which includes Indonesia's technology scaleups GoCement and Mekari, and targeting profitability. Additionally, Finfra plans to enhance its data analytics, scoring, and risk assessment products.