Startup Gradana from Indonesia Won the Asia Entrepreneur Training Program

Gradana, a peer to peer lending company specialized in property, was the only startup representative in the technology sector to win the Asia Entrepreneurship Training Program (AETP). The event was held by the Swiss Government and followed by 250 startups.

Of the 250 startups participating, 20 finalists were selected to take part in the next round. Finalists were then selected again so that four winners were determined to be dispatched to Switzerland in December 2019. Selected startups can meet potential investors or partners in a business matching program.

Angela Oetama, the co-founder of Gradana, said that the event was a validation of the presence of Gradana as a platform that bridges the problem of property financing needs. She said that the platform offers a solution for borrowers as well as an alternative investment for lenders.

“Initially we only served to finance for housing purchases,” Angela Oetama said in a press release some time ago. Based on the needs and demands of consumers, Gradana ventured into rental finance with GraSewa and renovations with GraRenov. Thus, it becomes a more versatile platform.

Gradana Introduced More Services for the Community

Along with GraSewa and GraRenov, Granada also introduced GraStrata for financing the needs of second home purchases. Business diversification becomes Gradana’s response to various diverse market needs related to property. Nowadays, rental and renovation costs are quite high in terms of nominal.

“Another factor of the business diversification is to deal with the needs and demands of secondary property that are ready to be used and occupied immediately. Moreover, the price of the property is usually cheaper than the new one,” Angela Oetama explained.

Assessing the policies taken by the government offered bright prospects for the property sector. Incentives provided by the government can encourage the growth of the property sector in Indonesia. Fin-tech startups like Gradana should benefit these policies and help develop the property sector as a whole.

The Asia Entrepreneurship Training Program itself is present in Indonesia as a program initiated by Zurcher Hochschule fur Angewandte Wissenschaften (Zurich University of Applied Sciences) and Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich). This program is considered as a great place for Gradana to develop.

“We are grateful. As a startup, we still want to continue to grow and develop regarding market and technology. With the meeting later in Switzerland with potential investors, we hope Gradana will get ‘cheaper cost of funds’ to serve Indonesian consumers more broadly,” she added.

Indonesia’s Market Potential Is Still Broad and Open

Angela also revealed that the market potential in Indonesia is still very broad and open. Recently, Gradana formed a partnership with a property agent in Samarinda, Kalimantan. According to her, the government’s plan to move the capital city to Kalimantan region had a positive impact.

In this case, it can influence the growth of the property industry there. As the largest city on the island of Kalimantan along with this transfer plan, Samarinda has a prospective property market potential. Besides, the main economic drivers in the city are trade and natural resources.

“Property as an industry which so far has not been so significant in the city’s growth will be an economic driver in addition to other sectors. This is what underlies us to enter the Samarinda market,” she explained. Gradana offers some different services as well in Samarinda.

Not only purchasing property, Angela said that Gradana also provides solutions to Samarinda residents who want to rent a house in the city. According to her, not everyone has the ability or desire to buy a permanent home for some reason. Thus, GraSewa can be a solution.