Pintarnya just secured $16.7 million in Series A funding to tackle Indonesia's massive employment and financial inclusion challenge. The startup's dual platform connects 10 million blue-collar workers to jobs while offering secured loans through asset-backed partnerships, targeting the 59% of Indonesia's workforce trapped in the informal economy where traditional banks won't lend.
Pintarnya is betting big that Indonesia's blue-collar workers need more than just job listings—they need a financial lifeline too. The Jakarta-based startup just closed a $16.7 million Series A round led by Square Peg, with participation from existing investors Vertex Venture Southeast Asia & India and East Ventures. The funding validates a thesis that's been three years in the making: combining employment services with accessible credit for Indonesia's massive informal workforce. Since launching in 2022, Pintarnya has grown to serve over 10 million job seekers and 40,000 employers nationwide, with revenue climbing almost fivefold year-over-year. Co-founder Henry Hendrawan expects the company to hit break-even by year's end—a milestone that would position it among Southeast Asia's fastest-growing employment platforms. The timing couldn't be better. Indonesia's job market presents a stark divide that existing platforms haven't bridged. While white-collar focused sites like JobStreet, Kalibrr, and Glints compete for a narrow slice of university-educated workers, around 59% of Indonesia's 150 million workforce remains employed in the informal sector, according to Brookings Institution research. These workers—aged 21 to 40 with high school education or below—face a double challenge that Pintarnya founders Ghirish Pokardas, Nelly Nurmalasari, and Henry Hendrawan witnessed firsthand. "Traditionally, mass workers in Indonesia find jobs offline through job fairs or word of mouth, with employers buried in paper applications and candidates rarely hearing back," Hendrawan told . "For borrowing, their options are often limited to family/friend or predatory lenders with harsh collection practices." The financial exclusion runs deeper than most realize. Conventional credit scoring models rely on steady monthly income and formal bank account activity—luxury conditions that informal workers can't meet. This leaves them vulnerable to loan sharks or family borrowing, creating cycles of debt that traditional fintech companies like or haven't addressed for blue-collar demographics. tackles this through asset-backed lending partnerships, accepting collateral like gold, electronics, or vehicles—assets these workers actually own. "We digitize job matching with AI to make hiring faster and we provide workers with safer, healthier lending options—designed around what they can reasonably afford, rather than pushing them deeper into debt," Hendrawan explained. The approach is already showing results that go beyond typical job platforms. offers quick-apply options for walk-in interviews, affordable e-learning modules for skill development, and in-app opportunities for supplemental income—all integrated with seamless access to financial services. The platform primarily serves workers seeking manufacturing, retail, hospitality, and delivery jobs, with AI-powered matching that accounts for location, skill level, and availability flexibility that blue-collar workers need. But lending remains the killer feature. "Given their employment status, lending is the most in-demand financial service for Pintarnya's users today," Hendrawan noted. "We are planning to 'graduate' them to micro-savings and investments down the road through innovative products with our partners." This gradual financial inclusion strategy sets apart from competitors who either focus purely on employment or target higher-income fintech users. The fresh capital will fuel platform technology improvements and expand financial service partnerships, with regional expansion on the horizon. "Our vision is for Pintarnya to be the everyday companion that empowers Indonesians to not only make ends meet today, but also plan, grow, and upgrade their lives tomorrow," Hendrawan said. With Indonesia's gig economy accelerating and financial inclusion becoming a government priority, is positioning itself as the essential bridge between work and wealth for the country's largest but most underserved worker population.
