The steady march of technology and the easier availability of smartphones as well as cheap data have led to the rapid growth of the Fintech sector in many countries. While the United States, the United Kingdom, and China remain the leaders in the Fintech space at a global level, many other countries have a thriving Fintech space at this point of time. One of the countries that has managed to create a thriving Fintech sector is Indonesia, and one of the companies that has been particularly successful is SuperAtom, the Fintech lending firm. The company has grown by leaps and bounds through its peer to peer lending platform. It was founded in 2018 and within a year, it has recorded enough growth to attract a fresh round of investment from venture capitalists.
The company’s lending platform, known as UangMe, has become extremely popular and has managed to generate as many as 5 million downloads so far. In its latest funding round, SuperAtom managed to raise $24 million from a range of investors, but the round was led by Gobi Partners. The investment was made by way of the Meranti ASEAN Growth Fund in which Cheetah Mobile is also a partner and it represents a significant boost for SuperAtom in its quest for kick-starting its growth. In South-East Asia, there are still pockets of the population that do not have access to banking or credit, which is why the services provided by Fintech firms like SuperAtom are so important. After the deal was announced, the company stated that it is going to use these funds to further expand its services and make credit more accessible to a larger pool of people.
The Managing Director at Gobi Partners, Kay Mok Ku also spoke about the deal. The executive said,
These services are especially relevant in markets such as Southeast Asia, where traditional banking penetration is low and the proliferation of smartphones is high. Tech companies are able to reach out to underserved consumers in this region with their innovative services, and essentially win the day.
Considering the fact that Indonesia is currently one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia, it is only a matter of time before the businesses of startups like SuperAtom start becoming profitable. Many Fintech firms are already looking at other avenues for growth and payments is supposed to be the next big thing.
