Jakarta, 1 September 2022 – KoinWorks, the first Super Financial App in Indonesia, celebrated six years of providing innovative financial solutions for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) on August 27, 2022. With its 2 million strong user base, KoinWorks has grown significantly by being resolute in its vision to enable financial access through technology for MSME owners who have not been served conventionally. Achieving initial success by providing financial services with P2P lending products, Koinworks has empowered its users by providing 8 innovative financial products for MSMEs management, personal financial development, education loans, and early wage access.
To date, KoinWorks has distributed a total of Rp. 13 trillion of funding to MSMEs throughout Indonesia. With this funding, MSMEs have succeeded in developing their businesses with a monthly average income of 70 million rupiah. Benedicto Haryono, CEO and co-founder of KoinWorks commented. “Seeing this upward mobility, we hope more MSMEs feel encouraged to take steps to reach their full potential with KoinWorks as their financial partner. This is also further proof for lenders that impact investing with KoinWorks has positive effects not only on their bottom lines but also on the entire Indonesian economy. On this momentous occasion that is Koinworks’ 6th anniversary, we celebrate both our robust growth and the challenges encountered through the years that have galvanized our team to make the dreams of a thriving MSME ecosystem come true ” he said.
Building an MSME ecosystem
MSMEs become an important pillar of the Indonesian economy with the contribution of Gross Domestic Product reaching more than 61%. However, MSMEs often have obstacles to grow, the most common one is limited access to financing. According to Bank Indonesia, only 30% of MSMEs access financing from bank and non-bank loans. Through continuous development of fintech products, KoinWorks fully intends to lessen the gap with its mission to contribute to increasing financial inclusion and empowering MSMEs through capital. “Our main motivation for establishing KoinWorks was to give MSMEs access to necessary financial solutions. We studied the different challenges faced by MSME players, and saw that growth capacity was stunted. We made it our aim to provide what they haven’t had before,” said Benedicto Haryono, CEO and co-founder of KoinWorks.
Providing business solutions has been the basis for the development of KoinWorks products over the past six years. “KoinWorks was created so that the financial tools that help with scaling businesses can be easily accessed by anyone. When MSMEs apply for capital loan through KoinWorks, we are fully immersed in helping them understand each part of the process. Learning is a two-way process, as much as we teach them what is essential to growing a business, we listen to their needs carefully and also look at other factors outside of the MSMEs control that support their development. And this is where creating a healthy ecosystem for MSMEs comes in. So apart from bringing financial solutions to MSMEs, KoinWorks adds value because our growth is also the result of helping everyone succeed with a robust MSME ecosystem for all,” added Benedicto.
Venture capitalists were among the first to recognize and invest in KoinWorks’ vision, after seeing the inclusive ecosystem where businesses generate impact and value. Even as recently as 2022 began, KoinWorks received a series C funding round of IDR 1.6 trillion. And in turn, Koinworks showcased how it goes beyond providing financing for MSMEs, with the release of KoinWorks NEO, an integrated financial service for MSME business management.
Innovations are only valuable if the users benefit from them, and with entrepreneurs like Ridwan Mualik, KoinWorks is surely going on the right track. Ridwan Mualik is a KoinWorks user that runs a clothing manufacturing business called Busana Kreasi Bangsa. He says that KoinWorks even helped his business thrive throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as “Applying for a loan using KoinWorks is so easy, that we immediately saw our business accelerate forward through the early days of the pandemic. With the financing provided, we were able to increase production, and add clients simultaneously. At present, we already have 370 clients in our roster,” said Ridwan. Through a KoinWorks product called KoinBisnis, Ridwan has also contributed to the MSME ecosystem by creating a program for MSMEs focused on fashion by providing clothing materials for the production process, and consulting on the latest trends in the fashion business. “We are aiming to be creative with the way we share opportunities with others. I didn’t expect that with a simple idea, I could attract dozens of MSMEs in the fashion sector that have now trusted us to start their very own businesses,” Ridwan concluded.
Under this inclusive ecosystem, KoinWorks has been able to create specialized financial products that give the traditionally unbanked options for growth that were previously unavailable to them. Under the principal personal product KoinP2P, KoinWorks has introduced a new feature called KoinP2P Grade S, or Grade Special. In collaboration with trusted partners, KoinWorks distributes Grade S funding to informal sector workers such as salesmen, grocery stores, and wholesalers to help develop their businesses and improve their social welfare. Through KoinP2P Grade S, KoinWorks is even able to offer lower risk, and give its lenders the satisfaction to participate in a funding process that results in greater social impact.
One Click to Unlock Your Dreams
On its 6th anniversary, KoinWorks is bannering its commitment to MSMEs with the “One Click to Unlock Your Dreams” campaign. KoinWorks is ready to help its entire community achieve their financial targets to make both business and personal financial dreams come true. Whether it’s a long-held ambition to set up a new cafe, or that set-aside dream of acquiring health insurance, pension funds, or education funds for children in the future, these can all be realized with one click in the KoinWorks application.
Grace Hong, Chief Marketing Officer of KoinWorks shares that “KoinWorks encourages our users to go after what they want by providing the tools to get it. We understand that making financial decisions can seem overwhelming for most people, that’s why we continue to innovate to support individuals on their goals for financial wellbeing. Whether they want to develop a skill like digital marketing, grow their personal wealth or start a venture from scratch, KoinWorks will be that partner to help you realize these dreams”.
KoinWorks is also celebrating its success with attracting competent talent in various fields to join the burgeoning startup. A total of 950 KoinWorks employees are currently spread across Indonesia and several Asian countries, including Singapore, Vietnam, and India. With strong resources, KoinWorks is optimistic that it can continue to make an impact not just for their users but for all MSMEs in Indonesia.
