JAKARTA, 7th July 2022 — Kini, an Indonesian on-demand payroll provider, raised US$ 4.3 million of seed funding led by East Ventures, with participation from Ten13, OurCrowd, K50 Ventures, and Goodwater Capital. Kini will allocate the fresh funds to continue building out its HR-Fintech product suite, and invest in expanding enterprise partnerships and HR tech providers to power their HR-fintech solutions through a single API.
Kini was founded by Jordan Fain, Chief Executive Officer, and Indonesia fintech veteran Sidnei Budiman, Chief Technology Officer, in 2021.
“We are excited to partner with East Ventures and all our investors. Their support will accelerate our mission to make life better for the 99% of workers in Indonesia, especially for the workers who live from paycheck to paycheck. With a huge blue-collar workforce across Indonesia and Southeast Asia, we believe Kini benefits both the employer and employees,” said Jordan.
Based on years of experience at Uber, Jordan realized that tightening the payment cycle for drivers improved retention and increased acquisition. Therefore, Jordan had confidence that Kini would be helpful for empowering businesses to manage large blue-collar workforces. Additionally, millions of blue-collar workers in Indonesia and broader Southeast Asia are underbanked, live from paycheck to paycheck, and have limited access to credit, hence are vulnerable to predatory lending from payday lenders.
Kini is a solution to alleviate these issues, by providing on-demand payroll services (also referred to as earned wage access) to help employees take control of their finances. Through Kini’s technology, employees can have immediate access to cash, bill-pay services, as well as features including micro insurance. Kini’s platform also offers additional tools for companies to help manage their workforce, including instant disbursement of incentives or allowances, discount vouchers, communications, payroll services, and API integration with human resources information systems and employee time tracking systems.
“Supporting financial inclusion has been one of the main priorities that we want to achieve through our investment, and we are glad to welcome Kini in strengthening our goals. Seeing the big potential of the blue-collar workforce, and how the solutions provided will empower the lives of many, we believe Kini will continue to bring betterment to millions of workers in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. We are honored to be a part of Kini’s mission in bringing impact to society,” said Melisa Irene, Partner of East Ventures.
Since its launch, less than a year ago, Kini has experienced an average of 70% monthly growth. Currently, the Team of 10 members is serving more than 50 corporations, including big names in the industry, such as ISMAYA GROUP, Asaba, Doku, and many others including public companies. Kini is already integrated with leading HRIS platforms.
“Kini has been an incredible partner to our business, acting as a safety net for our employees during times of need” – Amanda, HR Manager of ISMAYA GROUP.
About Kini
Kini is a on-demand payroll provider, helping employees take control of their finances by providing immediate access to cash (earned wage access), bill-paying services, and special features including micro insurance.
About East Ventures
East Ventures is a pioneering and leading sector-agnostic venture capital firm headquartered in Singapore. Founded in 2009, East Ventures has transformed into a holistic platform that provides multi-stage investment, including Seed and Growth for over 200 companies in Southeast Asia.
An early believer in the startup ecosystem in Indonesia, East Ventures is the first investor of Indonesia’s unicorn companies, namely Tokopedia and Traveloka. Other notable companies in the portfolio include Ruangguru, SIRCLO, Kudo (acquired by Grab), Loket (acquired by Gojek), Tech in Asia, Xendit, IDN Media, MokaPOS (acquired by Gojek), ShopBack, KoinWorks, Waresix, and Sociolla.
East Ventures was named the most consistent top performing VC fund globally by Preqin, and the most active investor in SEA and Indonesia by various media. Moreover, East Ventures is the first venture capital in Indonesia to sign the Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI), supported by the United Nations (UN). East Ventures is committed to achieving sustainable development and bringing positive impacts to society through its initiatives and ESG-embedded practices.
