Jakarta. Fintech lending firm Investree is aiming to be in the black this year.

Investree's financial report showed that the company posted a comprehensive loss of Rp 27.8 billion in 2021. The company's revenue reached Rp 138.28 billion, whereas its operating expenses totaled 158.38 billion. Investree also reported total assets worth Rp 159.07 billion and Rp 130.55 billion in liabilities. The startup has Rp 28.52 billion equity, far off the minimum equity requirement set by the Financial Services Authority (OJK). 

"What we can say is that we are on our way to profitability. This is a joint effort by the management, employees, and founders. That we will move towards profitability. Yes, this year, as soon as possible, we are talking about 2023," Investree chief of sales Salman Baharuddin said during a media visit to B Universe in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Investree is seeking up to 30 percent growth in its loan disbursement in 2023. The company also aims to grow the number of its borrowers to 50,000.  

“So a 30-percent loan disbursement growth. We are focusing on micro, small, and medium enterprises [MSMEs], be it public procurement, creative industry, or other partners such as e-fishery,” Salman said.

For sustained business growth, Investree Group acquired a minority stake in Bank Amar. This acquisition is also part of the collaboration between the financial service entities within Investree Group, according to Salman.

Investree is also not disbursing loans of more than Rp 2 billion, in line with OJK’s regulations for fintech lending. Investree will recommend borrowers that need funds more than that to “level up” and apply for a loan at Bank Ammar.

“We have many great borrowers. If they need more than Rp 2 billion, they [will need to] level up and we will recommend them to Bank Amar. I don’t know the exact figure, but there are many [borrowers] whom we have recommended,” Salman said.

OJK statistics showed that the fintech lending industry had begun to book a net profit in early 2023. 

As of Feb. 2023, fintech lending has recorded a Rp 98.25 billion net profit, a huge improvement from the Rp 23.32 billion net loss in the same period the previous year. 

According to OJK, fintech lending’s operating revenue rose 70.19 percent to Rp 1.88 trillion in the first two months of 2023. Operational expenses jumped 47.75 percent to Rp 1.68 trillion in the same period. The ratio between the operational costs and operational revenues also declined from 103.4 percent in Feb. 2022 to 89.16 percent a year later.

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