Validus’ Indonesia Arm Wins Lending License

The platform, which caters to the financing needs of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country, experienced strong growth in 2020.

Batumbu, a subsidiary of Singapore-based Validus, has received regulatory approval to operate as a licensed digital financing platform in Indonesia, it announced in a statement.

With the license, the startup will ramp up efforts to improve financing access and financial literacy within business ecosystems across provinces in Indonesia, Jenny Wiriyanto, CEO of Batumbu said.

Batumbu has disbursed over S$207 million ($153.76 million) to MSMEs since starting its operations in April 2019. In the past year, it has grown by some 650 percent as MSMEs pivoted their businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The strong performance is expected to continue as economic recovery and activity picks up, Validus said.

Our “glocal” structure gives us a strategic advantage in implementing best practices, strong credit models and governance framework across our markets, Ajit Raikar, Validus’ co-founder and executive chairman, said in the announcement.

Launched in 2015, Validus has since facilitated over S$775 million in SME financing through its entities in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, and most recently, Thailand.

Validus is backed by the likes of Netherlands development bank FMO and Temasek Holdings’ Vertex Ventures and Vietnam’s VinaCapital.