Indonesia-based digital investment app Bibit bags US$80m round led by GIC

INDONESIA-BASED digital investment app Bibit announced on Wednesday (May 25) that it has raised more than US$80 million in a round led by Singapore state investor GIC.

The round was joined by existing investors and Prosus Ventures, the venture investing arm of Netherlands-listed Prosus. Prosus is majority owned by Naspers, which has a stake in Chinese technology giant Tencent.

The fresh funds will be used for the launch of new products and services, technology development, hiring talent and strengthening the company’s financial programmes to create investment awareness in the country.

This round comes as Indonesia sees a rise in retail investors, resulting in venture capital (VC) firms pouring money into such digital platforms.

Rival Ajaib, a stocks and mutual funds trading platform, in October 2021 was the fastest startup in the country to hit unicorn status. The company is the second-most active brokerage in Indonesia, according to 2021 data from the Indonesia Stock Exchange.

Meanwhile, multiple asset class investment platform Pluang in January this year raised US$55 million from global VC firm Accel, just 4 months after an earlier US$55 million round led by Australia-based tech investor Square Peg.

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Bibit was launched by Indonesian investment platform Stockbit in 2019. It is licensed as a mutual funds selling agency under Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority.

Bibit co-founder and chief executive Sigit Kouwagam said: “We are here to enable Indonesians to participate in the capital market and help people achieve their financial goals through the right investment.”