Filling the credit gap in Southeast Asia

Akulaku brought Pepper Advantage onboard to help facilitate its ambitions to grow financial inclusion throughout Indonesia. Pepper Advantage’s like-minded approach to helping those demographics with unmet credit needs made it the perfect fit.

About Akulaku

Akulaku is committed to providing virtual financing services to the majority of Southeast Asia, especially where traditional credit is harder to come by. Currently, Akulaku deals with over five million active monthly users. More than 90 million merchants have sold products via Akulaku, and in excess of 150 million platform transactions have been processed.

Akulaku sees itself as a financial pioneer across its Southeast Asian territories, helping people whose credit needs have traditionally been underserved by conventional banks and lending institutions. There are huge numbers of customers with unmet credit needs throughout the region, and Akulaku is on a mission to accommodate them with its high-quality digital banking opportunities.

As the platform sought to continue its expansion in terms of account numbers and loan assets, it realised it needed a partner with a deep understanding of servicing extensive and complex portfolios. It was also important to the directors that any partner share its accessible, inclusive mentality, and its desire to help people, whatever their financial journeys.

Bringing regional expertise

With a manifesto that focuses on helping people of all financial backgrounds, Pepper Advantage was the perfect match. With a strong presence across nine jurisdictions, including Southeast Asia, we were well placed to help Akulaku realise its ambitions and take its business growth to the next level. We came on board in September 2021.

By partnering with Pepper Advantage, Akulaku had immediate access to all the back-office services it needed to stay agile and resource-light. Thanks to our credit management expertise, Akulaku has been able to improve efficiencies, which in turn has enabled it to scale its loan portfolios in a resilient and compliant way, with appropriate risk decisioning.

We had systems in place that enabled the platform to bring agile and responsive collection strategies into the market quickly. Onboarding clients, monitoring their payments and filling in any resource gaps were all carried out with efficiency and ease. Pepper Advantage was also able to ensure all regulations, compliance and due diligence measures were adhered to throughout the collections process.

Addressing poor recoverability

With experience in servicing debt across multiple asset classes, including performing, non-performing and re-performing loans, we were able to manage Akulaku’s collection services. This included providing real-time analytics on consumer profiles, and call timing and call script improvement. Pepper Advantage provided an omnichannel solution to increase contact rate, and this in turn boosted recoverability. We also provided service-quality and anti-fraud monitoring.

As a result of our partnership Akulaku was able to improve operational efficiencies and set itself up for far more efficient scalability. By leveraging our teams, systems, expertise and experience, the platform was able to address market needs and fluctuations and respond in a way that increased recoveries, minimised risk of default, and helped its target audience to enjoy fulfilling financial lives.

As a result of our partnership, Akulaku has boosted its recovery rate, and its growth is underpinned by efficient operations. Akulaku said: “By working in tandem with Pepper Advantage, we’re on target to become one of the most efficient and fastest-growing lenders in our region. Pepper Advantage’s international reputation has played a big role in securing and accelerating our business. Its expertise has also meant we can focus on growth without compromising efficiency and compliance.”