Ilham Habibie Joins Indonesian Open Finance Fintech Ayoconnect as Commissioner

• Ilham Habibie is an experienced professional in the Indonesian ICT and finance landscape, leading the National ICT Council and the Agency for Research and Technology of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN).
• He is also the Chairman of Bank Muamalat and holds advisory roles in various organizations that focus on research and technology in Indonesia.
• Ilham’s strategic role at Ayoconnect is expected to help fast-track the company’s adoption rate through various collaborations with state-owned enterprises and entrepreneurs across the country.
• Securing fresh funds of US$10 million in equity investment last year, Ayoconnect is Indonesia’s largest API platform, servicing more than 100 Indonesian companies as clients and connecting more than 1,000 institutions through its network of APIs.

JAKARTA, 25 October 2021 -- Earlier today, Ayoconnect announced that it had appointed Indonesian technopreneur powerhouse Ilham Habibie as commissioner. Ilham has previously served as the company’s strategic advisor since August 2020 before joining the ranks of investors in Ayoconnect pre-series B round in September.

Ayoconnect, which began operations in 2016, recently managed to raise US$10 million in investment on its latest funding round, scoring a total of US$ 15 million in equity investment last year.

The company seeks to democratize open finance in Indonesia, offering a wide range of financial white-label products on its extensive Application Programming Interface (API) platform. Through this, Ayoconnect works to facilitate greater interoperability and collaboration among financial institutions in Indonesia, ultimately enabling them to launch new products quickly to serve unmet customers’ needs and unlock new revenue streams.

Ilham’s appointment brings into the fold a figurehead who has been deeply involved in Indonesia’s ICT and finance landscape. Prior to his role at Ayoconnect, Ilham has headed the National ICT Council of Indonesia as its Chief Executive since 2014. He also has an active role as the Chairman of Bank Muamalat, Indonesia’s first Islamic (Sharia) Bank, while leading as a Chairman, co-founder/shareholder PT. ILTHABI Rekatama, a private investment company in Indonesia.

Ilham is also actively involved in various organizations that focus on research and technology in Indonesia, including the Agency for Research and Technology of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) and the National Information and Communication Technology Council (WANTIKNAS), making him poised to be a valuable asset for Ayoconnect to fast-track financial inclusion within the Indonesian market.

“With Ilham joining as our commissioner, we will further accelerate Ayoconnect’s role in building the future of Indonesia’s digital ecosystem,” said Ayoconnect CEO Jakob Rost.

“Ilham is a visionary figure who has successfully driven innovation and encouraged meaningful collaborations between various organizations. With Ilham on board, we are looking forward to acquiring more partnerships with various state-owned enterprises and financial institutions as well as collaborating with a wider community of entrepreneurs in Indonesia.”

According to Rost, Ilham’s appointment as commissioner comes as Ayoconnect begins to expand its API footprint into open finance and open government. The company currently services over 1,000 companies in Indonesia, including leading financial service providers, tech companies and established household names. Ayoconnect’s API platform processes more than 300 million API hits annually and has experienced a 600% increase in transaction numbers compared to the same period last year.

“I have been continuously impressed by Ayoconnect’s push for progress and impact in the Indonesian fintech landscape. I am very excited to be joining the team and to drive financial inclusion in Indonesia. The goal is to provide innovative technology solutions to companies of all sizes, giving them intelligent tools to help their customers, including those that are still underserved by traditional financial institutions,” said Ilham Habibie.

Financial and digital inclusion are broad challenges that affect millions of Indonesians. In 2021, Indonesia’s unbanked citizens still account for an estimated 66% of the country’s 275 million population, making Indonesia one of the highest unbanked populations in the world.

However, the government continues to open doors for new fintech entrants like Ayoconnect to revolutionize the system through a grassroots approach. The country is now home to 20% of all fintech companies in the Southeast Asian bloc and is expected to become one of the largest fintech ecosystems globally over the next five years.

About Ayoconnect

Ayoconnect is Indonesia's largest API platform. It enables developers to choose from a wide range of financial white-label products on Ayoconnect’s API platform and quickly launch them to their users. Ayoconnect remains in the background, focused on building and operating the necessary infrastructure while allowing their clients to monetize and expand their business in a fast and massive way.

Founded in 2016, Ayoconnect’s API stack has seen rapid adoption. It is trusted by more than 100+ Indonesian companies as clients, including leading banks, retailers, e-commerce, fintechs, and e-wallets such as Bank BRI, Bank Mandiri, DANA, Indomaret, Bukalapak, Home Credit, Pegadaian and connects more than 1,000 institutions through its network of APIs. Ayoconnect’s APIs process more than 300 million API hits annually.

Ayoconnect has raised a total of US$15 million from leading local and international institutional investors. Ayoconnect's investors include Mandiri Capital Indonesia, Bank Mandiri’s corporate venture capital unit; BRI Ventures, Bank BRI's corporate venture capital unit; Indonesia’s AC Ventures, headed by Chairman of the Indonesian Fintech Association Pandu Sjahrir; Patamar Capital, Southeast Asia’s leading impact venture capital; Kakaku, a public company listed on the Tokyo Exchange (TYO); and Finch Capital among others. Ayoconnect continues expanding its ecosystem to accelerate financial inclusion and adoption of embedded finance throughout Indonesia.