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Grab, the Southeast Asian food delivery and transportation services giant, has led a Series B investment round in Indonesian digital payments company LinkAja.
Grab, along with existing investors PT Telekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel), BRI Ventures and Mandiri Capital, committed a total of about $ 100 million in the round, according to a statement Tuesday.
LinkAja issued 13,632 shares, with a share price of Rs 10 million in the latest round, DealStreetAsia learned. Grab will own 5.7 percent of LinkAja’s shares.
After the completion of the Series B round, Telkomsel remains the largest shareholder with a total of 25 percent of LinkAja shares. They are followed by Mandiri Capital (16.3 percent), the investment arm of Bank Mandiri Tbk; and BRI Ventures (13.2 percent).
This is LinkAja’s first investment from a private company. Previously, it had obtained funds from eight Indonesian state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The new revenue will be used to accelerate LinkAja’s growth.
LinkAja started operations in June 2019 through the integration of some state companies. The company targets middle-class consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia. Currently, it has more than 58 million registered users, with more than 80 percent of them located in second- and third-tier cities in Indonesia.
Haryati Lawidjaja, CEO of LinkAja, said the company is very excited to join Grab as a shareholder. “We believe that this strategic partnership can strengthen LinkAja’s services. We will open the collaboration opportunity for investors and other partners with the same vision and mission, ”Lawidjaja said in the press release.
Grab’s strategic investment could help increase financial inclusion for Indonesians.
“Cash is still the main [mode of] transaction in the country, and there are millions of Indonesians who are not accessible through the traditional banking system. We chose to invest in LinkAja because we can accelerate the mission of financial inclusion in Indonesia. The strategic collaboration between LinkAja and our digital ecosystem, including OVO and Tokopedia, will help us deliver cashless services, which are convenient, accessible and secure, ”said Neneng Goenadi, Managing Director of Grab Indonesia.
Previously, DealStreetAsia had reported that LinkAja was working towards a Series B fundraising round, which will see more investors in the company in addition to state-owned companies. Gojek and Grab were seen as potential investors in the round.
Lender BNI, investment manager PT Danareksa, oil and gas company Pertamina and insurer Jiwasraya also have interests in LinkAja.
