Robo-advisor Bibit.id raised $65m in a funding round led by Sequoia Capital India with the aim to boost financial education among millennials.
The round saw Tencent enter as a new investor along with Prosus Ventures and Harvard’s endowment fund as well as existing backers AC Ventures and East Ventures.
This funding round comes after the robo-advisor raised $30m in its Series A round from Sequoia Capital India, East Ventures, EV Growth, AC Ventures and 500 Startups. With the latest round, Bibit’s total funding comes to $11m.
Bibit will use the fresh funding to launch new products, develop its tech, acquire talent and increase financial education among young people.
Launched in 2019 by Stockbit, the digital investing app helps first-time investors invest in mutual fund products, offering customizable portfolios based on their individual risk profiles. On its app, users can build portfolios based on their individual risk profiles and investment goals. The firm is also Gojek’s investment partner, which directs users to the Bibit app, where they can make payments with GoPay.
The investment comes after Indonesia saw a rise in retail traders last year with the number of mutual fund investors in the country growing by 78% year-on-year in 2020 to 3.2 million, therefore, adding one million investors, the company said citing IDX and Central Custodian data.
Commenting on the funding, Bibit CEO Sigit Kouwagam said, “Bibit is leveraging on technology to make investment accessible to everyone, including the inexperienced first-time investors. Therefore, we are seeing an accelerated interest from retail investors in the capital market.
“We believe that all Indonesians deserve a better future. Enabling people to invest helps achieve that.â€
Echoing a similar sentiment, Sequoia Capital India vice president Rohit Agarwal said, “Indonesian mutual fund customers have grown almost 10x in the past five years. Savings via mutual funds is the first step towards investing and Bibit has helped millions of consumers start their investing journey in a responsible manner. Sequoia Capital India is excited to double down on the partnership as the company brings the same customer focus to stock investing with Stockbit.â€
Investment platforms have seen increasing interest from global investors. Trading app Ajaib already raised a total of $90m this year from backers that included Robinhood. Pluang, a digital-gold savings app, also recently netted $20m in its pre-Series B round.
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