responsAbility-managed private equity vehicle focusing on financial inclusion has acquired a minority stake in C88 Financial Technologies. C88 is a fintech company providing financial marketplaces for lending and insurance products in Indonesia and the Philippines.
Through a partnership with Experian, C88 plans to increase financial inclusion in the markets by improving the matching of millions of underserved customers with appropriate financial products.
Through its online portals CekAja.com in Indonesia and eCompareMo.com in the Philippines, C88’s makes a range of alternative financial products available to customers, with comparison between alternative products and providers contributing to pricing transparency. Matching the customer’s profile with appropriate products, the Company also facilitates the purchase process and conducts know-your-customer research on behalf of its partnering banks and insurance companies.
Advanced marketing techniques focused on online search allows C88 to serve large numbers of customers. For instance, C88’s insurance offerings provide small ticket size insurance to hundreds of thousands of customers.
In Indonesia and the Philippines, banks in the retail segment lend almost exclusively to high income and upper middle class customers with an established credit track record, leaving a large proportion of bankable customers underserved or excluded.
The company plans to work with banks and insurance companies to develop and distribute new financial products suitable for broad segments of the population. There is substantial room to make better decisions about credit and pricing of credit to improve matching of customers with the right products, as well as for banks and other players to introduce new products to serve those who are currently excluded or underserved.
