Modalku, Akseleran, and Akulaku Credits Rise Up to 100% Last Year

Financing financial technology (fintech lending) companies Modalku, Akseleran, and Akulaku recorded a two-fold increase in loan distribution last year. The targeted sectors are online merchants in e-commerce and health.

Lending by Modalku has more than doubled or 100% on an annual basis (year on year/yoy) to IDR 20 trillion last year. Meanwhile, the number of transactions reached 3.5 million times in Southeast Asia.

Co-Founder and COO Modalku Iwan Kurniawan said that loan disbursements continued to increase because Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) penetrated the digital ecosystem during the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, people’s understanding of technology services such as fintech has increased.

“The increasing digital penetration has the potential for Modalku’s business. The public has a better understanding of the benefits of fintech,” Iwan was quoted as saying in a press release, Monday (18/1).

More than 80% of loans were channeled to online entrepreneurs, especially the fast-moving consumers good (FMCG) sector. This is because people are still buying their daily needs, even though there is a corona pandemic. Modalku also noted that lending to the health industry increased during the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Akseleran and Akulaku also Record Growth

Another fintech, Akseleran, also recorded a 35% yoy growth in loan disbursement over the past year, so that the accumulation reached Rp 960 billion. “As of December, we experienced a monthly loan increase of up to 60% yoy,” said Ivan Tambunan, co-founder and CEO of Akseleran, as quoted from the press release.

Ivan said that at the beginning of the pandemic, loan distribution growth had slowed down. Performance rose again from June to December 2020. Akseleran has served around 2,500 MSME players in 23 provinces. Apart from that, it has attracted 150 thousand individual lenders and 10 institutions.

Another fintech lender, Akulaku, also recorded a growth in loan distribution. Purchase credit transactions for the categories of electronic products, men’s clothing, and furniture increased by more than 100%. The volume of orders for furniture products also jumped by more than 650% in November-December 2020.

Director of Akulaku Silvrr Indonesia Herryson assessed that this growth in credit demand occurred because the pandemic changed people’s lifestyles. He said, the Covid-19 pandemic made people spend more time at home.

“What’s interesting is, the increase in demand in this category is not only dominated by big brands that are familiar to the public. Demand for various products of micro, small, and medium enterprises [MSMEs] with competitive quality has also been raised significantly,” said Herryson.

Akulaku also recorded a growth in the number of partners (merchants). In the men’s clothing category, the increase was sixfold. From the category of home and living items, there are at least five household items and furniture that Akulaku users are looking for throughout 2020, including storage racks, sofas, spring beds, kitchen utensils, and foam mattresses.

Fintech Loan Distribution Grows 96.19%

Then, twice as much for the field of furniture and electronic products. The Financial Services Authority (OJK) also noted that the accumulated loan disbursement by fintech lenders grew 96.19% yoy to IDR 146.2 trillion as of November 2020. Meanwhile, outstanding or ongoing reached IDR 14.1 trillion. Its growth has slowed down compared to 2019 which reached 228.8% yoy.

Even so, “this industry shows faster growth in 2021 compared to 2020. But it’s still not like 2017 to 2019,” said Deputy Director of Fintech Research and Development Regulation of OJK Munawar Kasan during a Public Discussion on Looking to the Future of Fintech and MSMEs in 2021, late last year (15/12/2020).

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Joint Funding Fintech Association (AFPI) targets a loan disbursement of IDR 86 trillion this year. The amount is higher than the 2020 target of IDR 65 trillion, which is a decrease from the original plan of IDR 86 trillion.

AFPI Executive Director Kuseryansyah is optimistic that this target can be achieved in 2021 even though there is still a Covid-19 pandemic. “This is a realistic figure that we can achieve,” he said during a virtual press conference entitled ‘Outlook for Peer to Peer Lending Industry 2021’, late last year (7/12/2020).