Malaysian fintech startup Jirnexu attracts $11m investment

Southeast Asian insurtech start-up Jirnexu has secured $11 million of investment from Japan-based SBI Group and US-based investor SIG Asia Investments (SIG).

The investment extends Jirnexu's Series B funding to a total of $17 million. The cash will be used to fund growth and further expansion in the consumer personal finance market. The company is also looking to hire senior technical and digital talents to drive expansion across technology innovation.

Malaysia-based Jirnexu offers a range fintech solutions. Its proprietary XpressApply technology automates marketing, sales and delivery of complex financial products for financial service institutions (FSIs)—banks and insurance companies. It is integrated with Jirnexu’s consumer-facing online financial aggregators (OFAs), RinggitPlus in Malaysia and KreditGoGo in Indonesia, which offer consumers a single online resource to compare banking, life insurance and general insurance products.

In 2017, Jirnexu launched Southeast Asia’s first chatbot for processing personal loans online in partnership with the RHB Bank. The company is now set to launch the XpressApply Chatbot with five more banks, including Maybank, Public Bank, AEON, UOB, and Japan Credit Leasing on RinggitPlus.com.

“Jirnexu has been growing rapidly since our last funding round, achieving 100 per cent year-on-year growth in 2017," said Yuen Tuck Siew, CEO of Jirnexu. "We will do that again in 2018."

"Already serving over 30 financial service institutions in Malaysia, this round of funding will enable us to accelerate our work with banks, life insurers and general insurers. Our aim is to cover the entire consumer personal finance market and simplify all aspects of our customers’ journey,” he added.

Siew said: “The next stage of our technology roadmap will address continuing pains points for FSIs, including consumer digital identification and eKYC (electronic know your customer), enabling us to provide highly personalised and relevant financial products anytime, anywhere. In the coming year, Jirnexu will automate digital risk assessment and customer verification, processes that are hindered by a lack of data and manual, paper-based methods.”

“To support our growth, we’re on the lookout for a RinggitPlus CTO, Digital Marketing Head, as well as business unit leaders who can drive our expansion across technology innovation, FSI acquisition and management, and consumer financial services.”

Ryosuke Hayashi, CEO and managing director of SBI Ven Capital, commented: “SBI appreciates the complexity of financial services—with each vertical and product having its own potential for digital disruption. Jirnexu continues to demonstrate unique value in their goal to lead across all verticals and stages of the value chain—an exciting endeavour in one of the world’s fastest growing mobile-first markets.”

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