Horizons Ventures funds Indonesian online investment platform, Ajaib Group

Li Ka-shing’s Horizons Ventures investment will prompt ‘broader financial inclusion’

Horizons Ventures, private investment vehicle of renowned Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, has led a funding round of USD25 million in Indonesia’s fifth-largest stock brokerage, Ajaib Group, reported South China Morning Post.

Founded in 2019, Ajaib Group’s brokerage sector Ajaib Sekuritas has sprung up as the fifth-largest stockbroker in Indonesia succeeding its establishment in June 2020. The company regularly operates more than one million users per month, and roughly 10 billion lots of stock transactions have been facilitated by the platform.

Frances Kang, one of Horizons Ventures’ directors, mentioned that the firm was “very excited” about the funding round, as “broader financial inclusion” could be induced.

Kang added, “Ajaib’s investment platform offers unprecedented levels of transparency and efficiency, which will give young and budding investors the freedom to build out their financial futures with ease.”

Among Horizons’ portfolio are Zoom, Impossible Foods, Spotify, and DeepMind. The company’s additional Indonesian investments cover coffee chain Kopi Kenangan and start-up Bobobox. Accompanied by Li’s investment in Ajaib, Hong Kong’s richest entrepreneur extends the diversification of his multibillion international conglomerate.

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Horizons was joined by Indonesian fund, Alpha JWC Ventures, in the Ajaib Group funding round, as well as other existing investors including SoftBank Ventures Asia, Insignia Ventures, and Y Combinator.

Anderson Sumarli, Ajaib’s co-founder and chief executive said, “Ajaib is the choice for more than half of new stock investors in Indonesia. As a millennial, I know what the experience is like to start investing. That’s why Ajaib is laser-focused on seamless experience and education.”

The company aims to launch a new generation of investors to Indonesia’s capital markets in 2021.

Jefrey Joe, managing partner at Alpha JWC stated, “the investment sector in Indonesia is still underserved, and one of the reasons is lack of accessibility. Ajaib addresses this issue and as revolutionised the industry in just two years. We are very impressed with Ajaib’s speed of growth and strong unit economics.”