Jakarta-based fintech Akulaku raises $200M from Japan’s largest bank

Jakarta-based fintech Akulaku has raised $200 cardinal from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), the largest slope successful Japan. This is portion of a strategical investment, with startup and MUFG readying to grow into caller markets and merchandise unneurotic successful 2023. Earlier this year, Akulaku raised $100 cardinal successful backing from Siam Commercial Bank arsenic portion of another strategical investment. Its different backers see Ant Group (Akulaku launched a BNPL concern earlier this twelvemonth with Alipay+).

Akulaku, which operates successful the Philippines and Malaysia successful summation to Indoensia, offers a virtual recognition paper and installment buying platform, arsenic good arsenic an concern level and neobank. Founded successful 2016, its people is to service 50 cardinal users by 2025.

As portion of MUFG’s strategical investment, Akulaku has agreed to enactment with MUFG companies successful Southeast connected tech, merchandise development, financing and distribution. MUFG is focused connected increasing its beingness successful the region, and earlier this twelvemonth it purchased the Philippines and Indonesian units of Home Credit BV for 596 cardinal euros. Its absorption connected Southeast Asia comes arsenic homegrown banks, similar Singapore’s DBS Group Holdings and Indonesia’s Bank Central Asia gain connected MUFG successful marketplace cap.

In a statement, Kenichi Yamato, the managing enforcement serviceman and main enforcement of MUFG Bank’s Global Commercial Banking Business Unit, said “Southeast Asia is cardinal and a 2nd marketplace to MUFG. Our concern successful Akulaku volition further solidify our committedness successful this portion to conscionable increasing fiscal needs of underserved customers.”