Robo-advisor Bibit.id on Monday announced that it has raised USD 65 million in a funding round led by Sequoia Capital India. The company welcomed Tencent as a new investor, along with Prosus Ventures and Harvard’s endowment fund. AC Ventures and East Ventures are existing backers.
Bibit was launched in 2019 by Stockbit, a platform where investors share news and ideas. On its app, users can build portfolios based on their individual risk profiles and investment goals. It quickly became popular with Indonesian millennials as well as first-time investors, who make up 90% of its over 1 million users. The firm is also Gojek’s investment partner, which directs users to the Bibit app, where they can make payments with GoPay.
In January, the robo-advisor raised USD 30 million in its Series A round from Sequoia Capital India, East Ventures, EV Growth, AC Ventures, and 500 Startups.
Rising interest in investment
The robo-advisor is riding a new trend in Indonesia. Against the backdrop of the financial uncertainty that came with COVID-19, younger Indonesians are looking for ways to increase savings to help them weather difficult times.
The number of mutual fund investors in the country grew 78% year-on-year in 2020 to 3.2 million, according to the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX). This growth was primarily attributed to millennials, who accounted for 92% of new investors last year. In the first quarter of 2021, another 1 million new mutual fund investors entered the market.
Despite the recent growth, less than 2% of Indonesians have put money into stocks and mutual funds, signaling that investment platforms still have a lot of room for growth.
Bibit plans to develop and launch new products, expand its team, and invest in financial education and awareness among young people. “We believe that all Indonesians deserve a better future. Enabling people to invest helps achieve that,” said CEO Sigit Kouwagam in a statement.
Investment platforms have seen increasing interest from global investors. Trading app Ajaib already raised a total of USD 90 million this year from backers that included its US peer Robinhood. Pluang, a digital-gold savings app, also recently netted USD 20 million in its pre-Series B round.
