Pintarnya Secures $16.7M to Improve Employment and Financial Services in Indonesia

Pintarnya, a groundbreaking employment platform based in Indonesia, successfully combines financial services with a variety of full-time and gig employment options. Recently, the company secured $16.7 million in its Series A funding round.

This investment round was led by Square Peg, with contributions from existing backers Vertex Venture Southeast Asia & India and East Ventures.

Founded in 2022 by Ghirish Pokardas, Nelly Nurmalasari, and Henry Hendrawan, Pintarnya seeks to tackle two critical challenges in Indonesia: ensuring stable incomes and encouraging responsible borrowing practices.

“Traditionally, job seekers in Indonesia relied on offline avenues such as job fairs and personal networks, resulting in a flurry of paper applications and inefficient tracking. Similarly, borrowing often depends on personal connections or predatory lending practices,” explained Henry Hendrawan, co-founder of Pintarnya, during a TechCrunch interview. “Utilizing AI enables us to enhance job matching, streamline hiring processes, and provide safer, more ethical lending solutions that prioritize affordability to prevent excessive debt.”

Approximately 59% of Indonesia’s workforce—about 150 million people—are employed in the informal sector, which limits their access to formal financial services due to inconsistent incomes and lack of employment documentation.

To address this issue, Pintarnya partners with asset-backed lenders to offer secured loans that use collateral such as gold, electronics, or vehicles, as highlighted by Hendrawan.

Since its launch in 2022, Pintarnya has successfully connected over 10 million job seekers to 40,000 employers nationwide. The platform’s annual revenue has nearly quintupled, and profitability is anticipated by the end of this year, according to Hendrawan. The primary audience includes users aged 21 to 40, especially those with a high school education or less, focusing on this often-overlooked demographic within Indonesia’s vast blue-collar and informal job market.

“As we broaden our employment services, we’ve come to realize our users need more than just job placements—they require essential financial solutions that traditional banking often fails to provide,” Hendrawan pointed out. “By digitizing job matching using AI, we can accelerate the hiring process while offering safer and more sustainable lending options that resonate with workers’ financial realities rather than deepening their debt issues.”

In contrast to platforms such as JobStreet, Kalibrr, and Glints—primarily catering to white-collar jobs that represent a smaller portion of the overall workforce—Pintarnya focuses on blue-collar workers. The platform provides unique benefits, including simplified applications for walk-in interviews, available e-learning resources, in-app opportunities for supplementary income, and easy access to financial services like loans.

This approach aligns with Indonesia’s fintech landscape, which has mostly centered on white-collar or upper-middle-class users. Traditional credit evaluations frequently overlook blue-collar employees who may not have stable incomes or established banking histories, as noted by Hendrawan.

When asked about the most in-demand fintech services among users, Hendrawan replied, “Given the nature of their jobs, lending is the primary financial service our user base seeks. We aim to evolve towards helping them with micro-savings and investment options in the future through innovative partnerships.”

The recent funding is set to enhance Pintarnya’s technology platform and broaden its financial service offerings through strategic collaborations. Recognizing the substantial potential for growth in the local market—given the preponderance of Indonesian workers in blue-collar and informal roles—the co-founders are also considering regional expansion when the appropriate moment arises, building on their vast experience managing operations throughout Southeast Asia.

“Our vision for Pintarnya is to serve as a daily companion that empowers Indonesians to address their immediate needs while also enabling them to plan for and enhance their quality of life over time. In five years, we envision Pintarnya becoming an essential super app for Indonesian workers—an indispensable source for job opportunities and a trusted advisor in financial matters,” concluded Hendrawan. “We aspire to be the preferred platform for job seekers, a facilitator for skill enhancement, and a reliable consultant for financial decisions.”