The fintech frenzy continues. Investment app, Bareksa just raised its Series C from Grab. It allows Indonesians to invest in over 200 mutual funds and government bonds.

• It currently has over 2.5M registered accounts and competes with investment apps Bitbit and Ajaib.
• It managed over $249M in assets in January 2021.

👨👩👦 Family tree

Apart from Grab, Bareksa is also backed by Ovo, Indonesia's leading independent e-wallet. Well, it just so happens that Grab also owns 90% of Ovo.

• Grab bought out Lippo (Ovo's parent) and Tokopedia (due to the GoTo merger) for majority stake in Ovo.
• Ovo was Bareksa's sole investor for its Series B.
• Ovo has over 20.8M monthly active users, the second-highest in Indonesia after ShopeePay.

Getting even closer. With Bareksa, Ovo Invest allows its users to invest as little as $0.7 in mutual funds. Users can instantly cash out their returns into their Ovo e-wallet.

• Competitors Bitbit and Ajaib only let users cash out to their bank accounts. (Which takes 2–3 days 🥱)
• With Grab's investment, Bareksa can offer services to Grab's users and handle payments through Ovo.

🚖 Speeding into fintech

Why bring Grab, Ovo and Bareksa together? Well, Ruben Lai, Grab Financial's head, says finance is one of Grab's key growth drivers after its US listing. It's targeting its drivers, SMEs and the underbanked.

• Grab currently offers services like its GrabPay e-wallet, insurance, BNPL and wealth management (investing).

Making bank. Grab already has a digital banking license in Singapore and is looking to launch next year. It has also applied for a license in Malaysia.

• While SEA's traditional banks are going digital, Grab doesn't see them as competition since Grab targets a different market — the underserved.

⌛️ Launch now, returns later?

Though, with everything Grab Financial offers, it's been making millions in losses. But hey, anything for its "once in a lifetime" fintech opportunity.

• It's keeping its cost base low and hoping for returns when its services are provided at scale.