01Fintech, a growth stage private equity (PE) firm specialising in financial technology in Southeast Asia, announced today a strategic partnership with Sinar Mas Financial Services (known locally in Indonesia as Sinar Mas Multiartha Tbk, or SMMA). SMMA is a subsidiary of the Sinar Mas Group, one of the largest conglomerates in Indonesia, and provides a broad range of financial services such as life and non-life insurance, securities, banking, capital markets as well as Web3 and fintech services to over 25 million customers daily. The strategic investment and partnership involve 01Fintech leveraging its market insights, investment experience, technical and operational expertise and proven unicorn-building experience to transform and operationalise SMMA’s fintech vision and ambition.
The partnership with 01Fintech is the latest in a series of announcements by SMMA to shore up its fintech capabilities within the group and to the larger Indonesia economy. With 01Fintech Founder and Managing Partner Kenny Man’s established experience in building many fintech unicorns in the region, and his deep advisory expertise from his Board roles across 10 companies, the announcement underscores the scale of SMMA’s fintech vision, and will leverage the 01Fintech team’s specialisation to drive synergies amongst the business units and various fintech investments across the entire Sinar Mas Group ecosystem.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Sinar Mas Financial Services as we shape the future of fintech in Southeast Asia. Together, we are committed to helping SMMA achieve its digital transformation goals, and ultimately, bring greater synergy to the Sinar Mas Group through this digitisation exercise. Our work to support and nurture promising fintech companies in the region will still continue, now with additional funds from SMMA. We look forward to driving fintech growth in Indonesia and being part of the new wave of innovative financial solutions that will transform the industry,” said Kenny Man, Managing Partner of 01Fintech.
Commenting on the cooperation, Pak Indra Widjaja, President Commissioner, SMMA said, “01Fintech’s team has a proven track record of identifying and nurturing promising fintech companies in Southeast Asia, and we are confident that their expertise and guidance will play a crucial role in building our fintech ecosystem for more seamless collaboration and better consolidation of resources within the Group. We are excited about the potential of this partnership to bring about positive changes in the financial industry and to the larger Indonesia digital ecosystem, and look forward to better serving our customers in Indonesia and beyond.”
01Fintech stands apart from traditional private equity firms that simply provide capital to growth stage companies. With a commitment to expanding financial services access for all and leveraging its extensive global LP network that comprises prominent fintech CEOs, family offices and conglomerates in Asia Pacific, 01Fintech goes beyond funding and regularly offers strategic, operational, and technical guidance to portfolio companies and partners seeking to adopt financial technology. This approach is driven by the team’s passion for supporting the growth and success of the businesses they work with and is underpinned by their deep experience in grooming fintech companies. The founder, Kenny Man, has successfully built numerous fintech unicorns in the past and previously sat on over multiple boards within fintech companies. In addition, his team has extensive technological and product experience in preparing fintechs to become unicorns, which underscores their ability to guide companies towards achieving their full potential.
