Halofina Settled Pre-Series A Funding from Mandiri Capital and Finch Capital

Halofina, a startup offering digital financial advisory and wealth management platform, has settled Pre-Series A funding from Mandiri Capital Indonesia and Finch Capital, a European-based venture capital firm. Adjie Wicaksana, Halofina chief executive officer and co-founder confirmed this information recently.

He said that the funds raised would be used to develop Halofina’s online financial services platform. “We will primarily employ the funds raised in this series for development of the product, strengthening strategic partnerships, and talent acquisition,” Adjie said during a press briefing in Jakarta.

The company will also add more products and features. “In the first quarter of next year, we will work with third parties to develop educational content such as audiobooks, podcasts, videos, and even online consultations. These will enable experts to create content and provide consulting services,” he said.

Currently, the main feature of Halofina is LifePlan. It helps users calculate and plan their future financial needs, from planning for weddings, housing, education, and vehicles. It gives an estimated cost and calculates how much to save per month to reach the goal.

Furthermore, the investment from Mandiri Capital would provide the platform early access to investment products from the Mandiri group. Halofina itself not only assists users to manage their personal finance regarding their goals but also allows them to receive investment strategy recommendations.

The Investors Declined to State the Specific Amount of the Funding

The recommendations are available through artificial intelligence (AI) and these let users invest directly from the mobile app. The platform has partnered with the mutual fund marketplace as well. The partners include Tanamduit, Tamasia, gold marketplaces Indogold, and peer-to-peer lending Mekar as well as danaIN.

The CEO of Mandiri Capital, Eddi Danusaputro, said that the investment in Halofina was strategic since it could help his group market its presence and products among millennials. Moreover, it could help the group better bond with its wealth management as well.

Eddi also mentioned that the firm, along with Finch Capital, had invested from USD 1 million to 5 million in the platform. However, his party and Finch Capital investment manager, Irmansyah Putera, are reluctant to share the specific amount of their investment to Halofina.

Irmansyah stated that his firm saw a great opportunity to improve Indonesian financial literacy by taking part in Halofina’s Pre-series A round of funding. Based on the 2018 Financial Inclusion Insights Survey, there is a good future for financial technology in Indonesia.

Specifically, the results of the survey that were published by the National Committee for Financial Inclusion (DKNI) showed that Indonesia’s financial inclusion rate was 55.7 percent. This means 55.7 percent of the respondents owned formal financial accounts with fin-tech companies, banks, or cooperatives in 2018.

Halofina Will Use the Raised-Funds to Improve Its Platform

Besides, that figure marks a bound in financial inclusion from 35.1 percent in 2016. At present, it moves to President Joko Widodo’s target of 75 percent financial inclusion by the end of 2019. “There should be a quantum leap in improving the financial literacy rate in Indonesia,” Irmansyah said.

Irmansyah also believed that financial planning technology is capable to contribute to the quantum leap in enhancing Indonesia’s financial literacy rate. Meanwhile, after the round of Pre-series A funding, Halofina will begin its Series A round during the second quarter of 2020.

In the meantime, this fin-tech startup plans to improve its user base from the recent 15,000 users to 500,000 users throughout the next year. It also plans to create a premium subscription program for its users and offer them better financial advice.

Halofina itself was founded in Bandung in 2017. The majority of its users are millennials and middle to upper-income groups. The startup believed that Mandiri Capital and Finch as the new shareholders can provide it with tangible support. Thus, Halofina can continue to grow.