Pluang, an Indonesian savings and investment app, announced on March 22nd that it had raised in pre-Series B funding, $20 million. The round was led by Openspace Ventures, with participation from Go Ventures and other returning investors.
The company offers proprietary savings and investment products that allow users to make contributions starting from 50 cents USD.
Go Ventures, the investment arm of Gojek, also participated in Pluang’s $3 million Series A, which closed in March 2019.
Pluang is available through partnerships with “super apps” like Gojek, Dana and Bukalapak, and currently claims more than one million users.
According to the fintech startup, it is able to maintain a low customer acquisition cost of $2 per transacting customer because it creates its own products, including investment accounts for gold, U.S equity indices and cryptocurrencies, instead of working with third-party financial service providers.
Pluang will use the funding from its latest round to develop proprietary financial products to cover more asset classes, including government bonds.
Pluang's founder, Claudia Kolonas, said in a statement: “Previously, these assets classes were only available to the wealthy in Indonesia. However, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to grow their savings, and our new products will reflect that.”
Only a small percentage of the Indonesian population are retail investors. However, that number is growing, especially among people aged 18 to 30. This is due to a combination of factors, including increased interest in financial planning during the pandemic and the rise of stock influencers.
Shane Chesson, founding partner at Openspace Ventures, said in a statement “Pluang has demonstrated tremendous growth over the last 12 months with industry leading unit economics. We’re excited to continue supporting the team, as they sustainably accelerate their ambitions to help every Indonesian grow their savings.”
Indonesia in Focus:
Population: 270.6 million (2019)
GDP: $1.1 trillion (2019)
GDP Per Capita: $11,441 (2019)
