NEX Ventures invested $31 million in three climate tech startups in Indonesia in 2023. In a separate development, Indonesian fintech firm Amartha is collaborating with Accion and Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth to serve micro-entrepreneurs in digital lending.
Three climate tech startups raise $31m from NEX Ventures
Three climate tech startups from New Energy Nexus Ventures’ (NEX Ventures) portfolio in Indonesia—Swap Energy, SolarKita, and Synergy Efficiency Solutions—have secured additional investments totalling $31 million in 2023.
“We are committed to supporting disruptive and agile startups and founders that can accelerate the clean energy transition. Our optimism extends to the potential opportunities for emerging early-stage ventures in addressing climate challenges, not only in Indonesia but also in other Southeast Asian countries, such as the Philippines and Vietnam,” Yeni Tjiunardi, managing director of NEX Ventures said in a statement on Friday.
NEX Ventures, through its Indonesia 1 Fund, has invested in seven climate tech companies and deployed four follow-on investments since 2020. These seven companies have attracted over $70 million of investments from other investors since joining the fund. To date, Indonesia 1 Fund’s portfolio companies have reduced over 165,000 tons of CO2 emissions, equivalent to planting almost eight million trees.
Indonesia 1 Fund has co-invested with Schneider Electric Energy Access Asia (SEEAA) in SolarKita and with Southeast Asia Clean Energy Facility (SEACEF) in SES. Swap Energy secured $22 million in investments in its Series A round in end-2023.
Amartha collaborates with Mastercard, Accion
Indonesian fintech firm PT Amartha Mikro Fintek (Amartha) has announced a collaboration with global non-profit organisation Accion and Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth to help micro-entrepreneurs in digital lending, according to an announcement on Friday.
This partnership allows Amartha to strengthen its digital channel, develop new products and helps the credit scoring platform to be more accessible to micro-entrepreneurs.
Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and Accion have together provided digital financial services for 12.8 million customers globally, including 6 million SMEs in 2022. In Indonesia, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth has empowered over 1 million individuals and SMEs with digital literacy.
“Amartha, Accion, and Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth have shared the same goals to reduce inequality in access to financial services. This collaboration will speed up digital financial inclusion in Indonesia,” said Andi Taufan Garuda Putra, founder and CEO of Amartha.
Amartha so far has provided over $1 billion of lending to over 2 million women small entrepreneurs in 72k villages since 2010. Amartha aims to expand its financial services to millions of people in the next three years.