A $16.7 million Series A round has been raised by Pintarnya, an Indonesian employment portal that offers financial services in addition to full-time and side-gig options, going beyond job matching.
With involvement from current investors Vertex Venture Southeast Asia & India and East Ventures, Square Peg spearheaded the investment.
Pintarnya was established in 2022 by Ghirish Pokardas, Nelly Nurmalasari, and Henry Hendrawan to address two of the main issues that Indonesians deal with on a daily basis: making enough money and borrowing sensibly.
Traditionally, Indonesian mass laborers sought jobs offline through job fairs or word-of-mouth, with candidates rarely receiving a response and employers mired in paper applications. For borrowing, their alternatives are frequently restricted to family/friends or predatory lenders with aggressive collection practices,” Henry Hendrawan, co-founder of Pintarnya, told TechCrunch. “We provide workers safer, healthier lending options — based around what they can reasonably afford, rather than pushing them deeper into debt,” the statement reads. “We automate job matching with AI to make hiring faster.”
The informal sector employs over 59% of Indonesia’s 150 million workers, underscoring the challenges these workers have in obtaining formal financial services due to their lack of official employment paperwork and traceable revenue.
According to Hendrawan, Pintarnya addresses this issue by collaborating with asset-backed lenders to provide secured loans that are guaranteed by assets like gold, gadgets, or automobiles.
Over 10 million job-seeker customers and 40,000 companies worldwide are being served by the platform, which received seed funding in 2022. According to Hendrawn, its income has nearly quadrupled year over year and it anticipates breaking even by the end of the year. The majority of Pintarnya’s users are between the ages of 21 and 40, and the majority have only completed high school or a credential that falls short of a university degree. With so many blue-collar and informal workers in Indonesia, the business wants to concentrate on this underserved market.
According to Hendrawan, Indonesia already has job boards such as JobStreet, Kalibrr, and Glints, but they mostly serve white-collar jobs, which make up a very small percentage of the labor market. With features like quick-apply options for walk-in interviews, reasonably priced e-learning on pertinent skills, in-app opportunities for extra revenue, and easy access to financial services like loans, Pintarnya’s platform is specifically made for blue-collar workers.
The fintech industry in Indonesia exhibits a similar pattern, serving upper-middle-class or white-collar customers. According to Hendrawan, current fintech companies frequently ignore blue-collar people due to traditional credit scoring methodologies for loans, which depend on consistent monthly income and bank account activity.
Hendrawan responded, “Lending is the most in-demand financial service for Pintarnya’s consumers today given their employment position,” when asked which fintech services are most in demand. With the help of our partners, we intend to “graduate” them to microsavings and investments in the future through creative products.
Pintarnya will be able to expand its financial service offerings through strategic alliances and improve its platform technology thanks to the new funds. The co-founders see significant development potential in the local market because the majority of Indonesian workers are working in the informal and blue-collar industries. When the time is appropriate, they are also willing to consider regional expansion, drawing on their vast experience in running companies throughout Southeast Asia.
“Our goal is for Pintarnya to be the go-to partner that enables Indonesians to plan, develop, and improve their lives in the future, in addition to helping them make ends meet today.” We envision Pintarnya becoming the preferred app for Indonesian workers in five years, not just for generating cash but also as a reliable companion for the duration of their lives, Hendrawan stated. “We want to be the first place people go when they are seeking for work, a location where they can improve their abilities, and a trustworthy resource when they are making financial decisions.”
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