Again and again we say that we are here to celebrate American fintech, but there are important international stories that have to be told, too. This one comes from Asia, where Singapore-based Grab (a mega-competitor to Uber in Southeast Asia) is planning to spend $700M over the next several years to rollout a major fintech initiative to the nation's larely underbanked population. A WOW moment for fintech in Asia.
(Cindy Taylor/Publisher)
"Southeast Asia’s biggest ride-hailing platform Grab has unveiled plans toward a $700 million investment in Indonesia. The majority of which will be toward Fintech development, particularly mobile payment and financial services in the country.
Singapore-based Grab which sees a major presence in a number of Southeast Asian countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam is gearing up toward a major investment drive in Indonesia, a country that is already Grab’s largest market.
As revealed by its announcement, the well-funded Uber competitor is planning to invest $700 million over the next four years to push Fintech-powered services to an Indonesian population that is largely unbanked whilst having a significant rate of smartphone adoption.
Of Indonesia’s near 250 million people, only 75 million have bank accounts and the telling statistic sees a number of Fintech initiatives coming to the fore at a rabid pace in the country. New regulations enforced by the country’s financial regulator, the OJK, is making it easier for Fintech startups and companies to establish themselves in the market as the government embraces a pro-Fintech agenda."
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