GajiGesa Secures Pre Series A Funding Worth of $6,6 Million Led by MassMutual Ventures

Fintech startup GajiGesa announced a pre-series A funding of $6.6 million or equivalent to 94.5 billion Rupiah. MassMutual Ventures led this round with the participation of some new investors, including January Capital, Wagestream, Bunda Group, and Smile Group. There are also individual investors, such as Oliver Jung, Northstar Group's Partner Patrick Walujo, Ula's CEO, Nipun Mehram, and Stripe's Business Lead for APAC, Noah Pepper.

Meanwhile, also participated the previous investors, including Defy.vc, Quest Ventures, GK Plug and Play, and Next Billion Ventures.

"GajiGesa's integrated platform can combine customer-centric product design and world-class technology infrastructure to ensure its unique position to empower underserved markets and help expand financial resilience for millions of people in Southeast Asia," MassMutual Ventures' Managing Director, Anvesh Ramineni said in the release.

Wagestream's Co-Founder & CEO, Peter Briffet said that he was amazed by GajiGesa's innovative product roadmap and marketing speed. "We are currently accelerating our shared mission to improve the financial health of workers around the world," he said.

Recently, GajiGesa also received an additional strategic investment four months after announcing its seed funding of $2.5 million. The fresh money comes from OCBC NISP Ventura and several angel investors, one of which is Edward Tirtanata through Kenangan Kapital.

An interesting fact, Bunda Group is listed as one of GajiGesa's recent pre-series A investors. According to DailySocial.id's data, GajiGesa is Bunda Group's second portfolio which also an affiliate of PT Bundamedik Tbk (IDX: BMHS), the owner of an integrated health service ecosystem, from a network of hospitals, clinics, laboratories, and medical evacuations.

Multiplying business growth

Since the last year, digital transformation has becoming a significant trend within the company's scope. The adoption of various digital solutions is required to reduce physical interactions and accelerate business processes constrained by the Covid-19 pandemic.

On a general note, GajiGesa is an integrated platform that allows partner companies to manage workforce and cash flow, also to empower the employers with services related to financial management.

One of its solutions is the Earned Wage Access (EWA) which allows employees to make payroll withdrawals on demand and faster than the traditional monthly payment cycle. This solution was developed to reduce dependence on illegal lenders.

Based on the company's data, EWA has recorded 40-fold growth since January 2021, and has been used by various industrial sectors, such as plantations, retail, hospitals, restaurants, technology, and manufacturing. Currently, GajiGesa has partnered with 120 companies and serves hundreds of thousands of employees in Indonesia.

GajiGesa's Founders, Vidit Agrawal and Martyna Malinowska discover an explosive growth trend in 2021 in line with the increasing interest of domestic and international investors in this funding round. Moreover, Indonesia becomes the main target market in Southeast Asia.

In addition, his team projects more large companies are starting to use a holistic approach to improve employee welfare.

Agrawal said that this investment is a proof that his team has built a business with strong fundamentals. Therefore, GajiGesa will double its business growth through this investment to expand financial stability for millions of workers in Southeast Asia.

"GajiGesa has doubled its team member over the past six months. We want to use this fresh fund to accelerate product development, grow our business across Indonesia, and expand our market throughout Southeast Asia," he said.

Malinowska added, "in these turbulent times, our platform has become a valuable tool for employers to provide simple solutions and reduce financial burdens. The pandemic has emphasized the essential of having an empowered workforce and the benefits of a holistic workplace," she said.

–Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian