Indonesia-based property-focused fintech platform Gradana has raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-Series A funding round led by Singapore’s fintech-focused investment firm tryb.
The fresh capital will be used to support Gradana’s business and product expansion, the company said in a statement.
Gradana operates a peer-to-peer platform focused on mortgage down payment financing that connects developers, agents, investors and banks with borrowers.
Indonesia’s housing backlog is estimated to be around 13.5 million units, with 800,000 units added every year.
“Buying or renting a property in Indonesia generally requires a significant down payment or upfront payment that limits the ability of many borrowers to afford the units. With the support of our partners, we have developed an offering for borrowers to work with developers, agents, investors and banks to finance mortgages and rentals while managing risk for all stakeholders,” said Gradana co-founder and CEO Angela Oetama.
According to co-founder William Susilo Yunior, the new funding will help the company enhance its technology which will enable faster approvals and more advanced credit scoring capabilities.
This year, the company says it looks to serve both primary (new launches from property developers) and secondary market (secondhand unit) and will be partnering with more institutional lenders, especially offshore funds.
Tryb principal Herston Powers said Gradana has the founding team and the technology to become the region’s first digital mortgage company to provide services across the entire mortgage value chain.
“Our investment into Gradana is aligned with our thesis that strong founders with innovative business models are able to leverage technology to solve Southeast Asian problems and capture huge markets with high revenue potential,” he said.
The Gradana deal marks the second investment in Indonesia by tryb. Earlier this month, DEALSTREETASIA first reported the firm’s participation in a pre-seed round for Indonesia-based sharia P2P startup Alami. The deal made tryb the first Southeast Asia-based VC to back a sharia fintech company in the region.