Last December 13, 2019, local fintech startup PearlPay was selected to join the sixth batch of prestigious global accelerator Plug and Play’s program in Indonesia.
PearlPay works towards assisting financial institutions, particularly rural banks, with their digital transformation efforts to help them serve and reach more underserved Filipinos living in underserved communities, all with the end goal of connecting our nation’s unbanked.
This new collaboration with Plug and Play will see that same mission expand to service the unbanked of Indonesia.
According to Think Google, 66 percent of the Indnonesia’s 260 million citizens is unbanked. Due to the country’s sheer size and geographical fragmentation, larger financial institutions are unable to reach them, while rural banks simply do not have the means to service them.
And even though Fintech has been on the rise, already penetrating urban and suburban areas, they have yet to penetrate rural areas in the country.
Noting PearlPay’s rising success in reaching parallel communities in the Philippines, Plug and Play Indonesia saw the opportunity to extend the digital toolkit PearlPay provides to Indonesia’s over 1,000 rural banks.
What is Plug and Play’s Startup Accelerator Program?
In the sea of startup enablers in Indonesia, Plug and Play is the only accelerator endorsed by President Joko Widodo, who’s acknowledged the global firm as a partner in fueling Indonesia’s continued development. Through its last five batches, Plug and Play Indonesia has already helped 53 startups in the country.
As part of Plug and Play Indonesia’s accelerator, PearlPay will engage in a three-month program of fine-tuning their platform to better service the local market, while gaining access to:
- Opportunities to collaborate with corporations and conglomerates
- Seed funding
- Direct mentorship and workshops from successful entrepreneurs and industry leaders
- Up to $60,000 value of free tools, services, and startup programs
- Opportunity to network with local and international investors
- Three months of co-working space in Kuningan
- Access to Silicon Valley partners and the global technology community
- And a chance to present to investors, corporate partners, government and media upon completion of the program
“Getting help from one of the most successful startup accelerators such as Plug and Play increases the probabilities of our success in achieving exponential growth,” said PearlPay CEO Spark Perreras. “Helping empower Indonesian rural banks is a step forward in truly making financial services universally accessible.”
