PR90340

Fairbanc Secures Funding from ADB Ventures, Accion Venture Lab, East Ventures, and Sampoerna to Scale Indonesian's Micro Merchant's Access to Embedded Credit Products

JAKARTA, Indonesia and SINGAPORE, June 29, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Fairbanc(https://fairbanc.app/) announced it has raised an undisclosed seven

figures investment in a pre-Series A from ADB

Ventures(http://ventures.adb.org/), the Asian Development Bank's venture arm,

Accion Venture

Lab(https://www.accion.org/how-we-work/invest/accion-venture-lab), East

Ventures(http://east.vc/), Michael Sampoerna  Group, and others. This new

financial backing comes on the heels of recent investments from 500 Startups

and Indonesian billionaire Michael Sampoerna. This funding will enable Fairbanc

to scale up credit access for Indonesia's small retailers, many of whom

struggle to access working capital.

The World Bank estimates Indonesia's micro, small, and medium enterprises

(MSMEs) have a US $166 billion unmet need for credit. Fairbanc partners with

large Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies to offer a 'pay-later' option

through its AI-powered credit scoring that allows instant microcredit

decisions. The credits help the unbanked and underbanked merchants with revenue

growth by enabling them to increase inventory.

According to Fairbanc Founder and CEO Mir Haque, "what makes Fairbanc so unique

compared to other fintechs is that it plugs into large consumer brands like

Unilever's vast merchant networks to offer 'Buy Now Pay Later' credit to tens

of thousands of retailers without requiring any loan applications or

smartphones. System integration into consumer brands' distribution app allows

Fairbanc to access merchants' order and payment history, which in turn, allows

Fairbanc to utilize advanced data science and machine learning to underwrite

credit and grow merchant's sales while keeping loan defaults and operating

costs very low."

Since Fairbanc's inception in 2019, the startup has partnered with major FMCG

firms, including Unilever, L'Oréal, and Danone, to help MSMEs grow their sales

by over 35% while limiting nonperforming loans to near-zero.

"Fairbanc is empowering and future-proofing the many unbanked grocers who

distribute Unilever products, a large percentage of whom are female," said

Francisca Ho, Head of Customer Development Finance at Unilever Indonesia.

Fairbanc's mission of financial inclusion "is aligned with Unilever's purpose

to enhance the livelihoods of millions of people as we grow our business".

With nearly 60,000 merchants in its network, Fairbanc will deploy the new

investment to expand its distributor partners and strengthen its sales and

technology teams. The company is also developing a product recommendation

system with new features, including timely alerts to help merchants plan

inventory in advance of climate events, for which Indonesia is at high risk.

"Fairbanc has shown us that it has what it takes to bridge the finance gap for

Indonesia's many small retailers," said Daniel Hersson, Senior Fund Manager at

ADB Ventures. "The company's inventory financing and experienced leadership

sets it apart in a crowded fintech market and makes Fairbanc an important ally

on our mission to accelerate financial inclusion and support climate resilience

in the Asia Pacific region."

"The pandemic is far from over in Indonesia, and micro merchants are uniquely

vulnerable to its economic impact. Fairbanc is filling a critical gap in access

to credit for these entrepreneurs, helping them keep their shops open and

sustain their livelihoods," said Michael Schlein, President and CEO of Accion.

"By embedding their product into existing partner channels, Fairbanc is able to

provide micro merchants seamless access to much-needed inventory financing

solutions. Fairbanc's work aligns strongly with our mission of supporting

inclusive fintechs, and we look forward to working with the team to reach more

micro and small businesses across Indonesia," said Paolo Limcaoco, Southeast

Asia Investment Officer at Accion Venture Lab.

"Supporting Fairbanc is aligned with our mission to bring financial inclusion

to millions of unbanked merchants in Indonesia. We believe Fairbanc is a strong

addition to accelerate supply chain financing adaptation in Southeast Asia,"

said Melisa Irene, Partner of East Ventures.

Fairbanc's CEO is Mir Haque, who previously held roles at McKinsey & Company,

Deutsche Bank, and Adobe, and its Chief Technology Officer is Kevin O'Brien,

formerly CTO of the micro-credit platform Kiva. The company's Head of

Operations is Siswanto Hadiprayitno, who has over twenty years of sales and

executive experience at Indonesia-based corporations including Unilever

Indonesia, Mead Johnson Indonesia, and Tiga Raksa Satria.

Media Contact

Mir Haque: mir@fairbanc.app

SOURCE  Fairbanc