Following a $125-million funding in 2021 co-led by Hong Kong multi-asset investment firm Silverhorn Group, Akulaku managed to pull in $100-million from one of Thailand’s biggest lenders, Siam Commercial Bank plc. to expand its business in Southeast Asia. 

In a statement, the company’s Chief Executive Officer said that funding raised would allow the Jakarta-based company to further expand its business’ geographical reach, specifically within its region of Southeast Asia. 

From a fintech lending platform in 2016, Akulaku inc. has ventured into Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) and consumer financing platform in Indonesia. The company claims that throughout 2021, it has distributed over $2.2-billion of credit to over 6-million users. 

The company also operates an online wealth management platform as well as a mobile digital bank Neobank which is supported by its subsidiary Bank Neo Commerce and an e-commerce platform with BNPL services additional to the Akulaku virtual credit card and e-commerce platform.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, Akulaku’s banking subsidiary – Bank Neo Commerce, completed a public rights issue on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for approximately $175-million. Bank Neo Commerce formerly known as Bank Yudha Bakti also launched its mobile digital banking service in march 2021 and has over 13 million users before Akulaku took control of Bank Neo Commerce in October of 2021. 

The $100-million strategic investment from Thai lenders SBC would provide the company with enough firepower to grow its core business in Jakarta as well as to grow its business within the region. Southeast Asia as a region has a population of 650-million people. This has seen a surge of fundraisings and startup deals as companies look to expand their businesses aggressively and move to win over consumers in one of the world’s fastest-growing digital markets.