Super app Grab is investing in Indonesia’s fintech platform LinkAja as part of its Series B funding round, both companies announced on Tuesday. LinkAja received a total commitment of up to USD 100 million from investors that include BRI Ventura Investama and Mandiri Capital Indonesia.
Grab is leading the funding round as a minority investor. It also marks LinkAja’s first financing from a major private tech company.
Rumors about Grab’s interest in LinkAja have been swirling around since July. Gojek has reportedly also been in talks with the fintech firm. Grab’s move is now positioning it strongly against Gojek’s GoPay, especially if the other Grab-backed payments unicorn Ovo finally merges with Dana.
Launched in June last year, LinkAja was formed out of a consortium of state-owned enterprises. It aims to be the national fintech champion focused primarily on the middle class, as well as the micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) segment in Indonesia. The strategic alliance with Grab opens up a wide range of potential synergies and collaborative opportunities for both parties.
“We chose to invest in LinkAja because we believe that together we can help accelerate our shared goal of improving financial inclusion in Indonesia,” said Neneng Goenadi, managing director of Grab Indonesia. “The strategic collaboration between LinkAja and our ecosystem, which includes partners like Ovo and Tokopedia, will allow us to bring cashless services to all Indonesians in a way that is trusted, convenient and accessible.”
LinkAja claims to have more than 58 million registered users, with more than 80% coming from Indonesia’s tier-2 and tier-3 cities. The platform said it was able to triple its gross transaction value (GTV) and number of transactions in the third quarter of 2020, compared with the same period last year.
Earlier this year, LinkAja launched a sharia-compliant mobile wallet that has secured an official license from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and Bank Indonesia. Within only six months of its launch, more than one million users already registered with the Sharia platform.