East Ventures and Vertex Ventures Lead Series A Funding for Cicil

Cicil, a fintech platform focused on student loan segment receives a Series A funding from a number of investors. They are East Ventures, Vertex Ventures, K3 Ventures, Ethos Partners and Accord Ventures. In total, Cicil has received more than $5 million (more than IDR 70 billion) in external funding.

East Ventures, which was involved in the previous series of funding, saw Cicil not only as a loan company but also a service capable of solving the most critical problem in Indonesia, said the development of human capacity by bridging the gap of education financial.

"Cicil is not just another loan company. [Cicil's Co-Founder] Leslie and Edward solved the most critical problem in Indonesia regarding human capacity development. Access to the real education can improve public's living standard, but Indonesia's education system is still high maintenance. Cicil fills the gap by providing funds for students to finance their study and buy their learning equipment, such as laptop and PC. It certainly can help students in developing along with the national movement to become the Energy of Asia," Willson Cuaca, East Ventures' Managing Partner, said.

It's corroborated by Vertex Ventures' Managing Partner Joo Hock Chua. He said that he's excited to lead the funding for Cicil and could help them make expansion in Indonesia's student market segment.

"Cicil has accomplished all important and ongoing mission in the education journey of students by helping them finance their needs, including laptop, travel cost, housing, and school fees. They have the right tools and opportunities to focus on producing a better learning experience. We also see great opportunities in Indonesia, it's to help SEA students as well," he explained.

Cicil has been focused on solutions for financial issues in Indonesia. It's either for tuition or online purchases with monthly installment without a credit card.

Since founded in 2016, Cicil has grown and managed to reach 10 provinces and 29 cities in Indonesia, also served students over 100 universities. Using this fresh funding, Cicil plans to help more students.

"We see the financial access is a real problem for Indonesian students and we hope Cicil can help to solve the problem. We also expect to overcome similar problems not only in Indonesia but also throughout Southeast Asia. The fresh fund will enable us to accelerate expansion and serve more students," Leslie Lim, Cicil's Co-Founder, said.

– Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian