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Jakarta-based fintech Akulaku has raised $200 million from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), the largest bank in Japan. This is part of a strategic investment in which Start and MUFG plan to expand into new markets and products by 2023. Earlier this year, Akulaku raised $100 million in funding from SIM Commercial Bank as part of another strategic investment. Other backers include Ant Group (Akulaku launched BNPL’s partnership with Alipay+ earlier this year).
In addition to Indonesia, Akulaku, which operates in the Philippines and Malaysia, offers a virtual credit card and payment transaction platform, as well as an investment platform and Neobank. Founded in 2016, the target is to serve 50 million users by 2025.
As part of MUFG’s strategic investment, Akulaku has agreed to work with MUFG companies in the Southeast in tech, product development, finance and distribution. MUFG is focused on growing its presence in the region and earlier this year bought the Philippine and Indonesian units of Home Credit BV for €596 million. The focus is on banks that have grown as countries in Southeast Asia, such as Singapore’s DBS Group Holdings and Indonesia’s Bank of Central Asia, with MUFG’s market capitalization.
“Southeast Asia is a key and secondary market for MUFG,” Kenichi Yamato, Managing Officer and CEO of MUFG Bank’s Global Commercial Banking Business Unit, said in a statement. Our investment in Akulaku further strengthens our commitment to meet the growing financial needs of customers in this region.
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