GajiGesa Gets 94.5 Billion Rupiah Pre-Series A Funding Led by MassMutual Ventures

Fintech startup GajiGesa announced the acquisition of pre-series A funding of $6.6 million or around 94.5 billion Rupiah. MassMutual Ventures led the round with the participation of a number of new investors, including January Capital, Wagestream, Bunda Group, and Smile Group.

Then, individual investors, namely Oliver Jung, Northstar Group Partner Patrick Walujo, CEO Ula Nipun Mehram, and Stripe’s Business Lead for APAC Noah Pepper.

Meanwhile, several previous investors participated in this funding, including defy.vc, Quest Ventures, GK Plug and Play, and Next Billion Ventures. GajiGesa’s integrated platform can combine customer-centric product design and world-class technology infrastructure.

“And to ensure their unique position in empowering underserved markets and helping expand financial resilience for millions of people in Southeast Asia,” said MassMutual Ventures Managing Director Anvesh Ramineni in an official statement.

Wagestream Co-Founder & CEO Peter Briffet said that he was amazed by the innovative product roadmap and marketing speed created by GajiGesa. 

“We are currently accelerating our shared mission to improve the financial health of workers around the world,” he said. Some time ago, GajiGesa received an additional strategic investment four months after announcing an initial funding of $2.5 million. 

This additional investment was obtained from OCBC NISP Ventura and a number of angel investors, one of which is Edward Tirtanata through Kenangan Kapital. Interestingly, in this new pre-series A line of investors, there is the Bunda Group which is again involved in startup funding.

GajiGesa is the second portfolio invested by the Bunda Group, which is an affiliate of PT Bundamedik Tbk (IDX: BMHS), the owner of an integrated health service ecosystem, starting from a network of hospitals, clinics, laboratories, and medical evacuations.

Doubling Business Growth

The trend of digital transformation within the company’s scope began to accelerate significantly since last year. The adoption of various digital solutions is needed to reduce physical interactions and accelerate business processes that are constrained by the Covid-19 pandemic.

As is known, GajiGesa is an integrated platform that allows partner companies to manage workforce and cash flow to empower employers with services related to financial management.

One solution is Earned Wage Access (EWA) which allows employees to make payroll withdrawals on demand and faster than the traditional monthly payment cycle. This solution was developed to reduce dependence on illegal lenders.

Based on company data, EWA solutions have recorded 40-fold growth since January 2021, and have been used by various industrial sectors, such as manufacturing, plantations, retail, hospitals, restaurants, technology, and manufacturing. Currently, GajiGesa has partnered with 120 companies and serves hundreds of thousands of employees in Indonesia.

The Founders of GajiGesa, namely Vidit Agrawal and Martyna Malinowska see an explosive growth trend in 2021 in line with the increasing interest of domestic and international investors in this funding round. Moreover, Indonesia is the main target market in Southeast Asia.

In addition, his party sees that more and more large companies are starting to use a holistic approach to improve employee welfare.

This Investment Is Proof That Their Business Fundamentals Are Strong

Vidit said that this investment is proof that his team has built a business with strong fundamentals. Therefore, GajiGesa will double its business growth through this investment to expand financial stability for millions of workers in Southeast Asia.

“The GajiGesa team has doubled over the past six months. We want to use this fresh fund to accelerate product development, grow our business across Indonesia, and expand our market across Southeast Asia,” he said.

While Martyna added, “in these turbulent times, our platform has become an invaluable tool for employers to be able to provide simple solutions and reduce financial burdens. The pandemic has emphasized the importance of having an empowered workforce and the benefits of a holistic workplace,” he said.