How Akulaku Redefined Fintech Funding: The Rise of Risk-Share and Revenue-Backed Lending Models
In Southeast Asia’s crowded fintech landscape, Akulaku stands out not only for its scale but for its ingenuity in funding innovation. What began as an e-commerce platform in Indonesia has evolved into one of the region’s leading consumer fintechs, with operations spanning Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia. Yet what truly differentiates Akulaku is how it funds its loan book — blending traditional debt, risk-sharing, and revenue-linked financing to fuel growth without excessive dilution or risk exposure.
From E-Commerce to Embedded Finance
Founded in 2016, Akulaku began as a “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) platform for Indonesian online shoppers. Over time, it expanded into a full financial ecosystem encompassing digital banking (via its majority stake in Bank Neo Commerce), insurance, and peer-to-peer (P2P) lending. Today, Akulaku’s annual loan disbursements exceed USD 4.5 billion, serving over 30 million users across Southeast Asia.
But scaling that rapidly requires a capital model that can grow as fast as the loan book itself. Akulaku’s leadership realized early that conventional equity and debt could only take them so far — and that innovation in funding design would be essential to sustain growth and profitability.
The Commission-Backed Debt Model: Turning Revenue into Capital
A landmark moment came when Akulaku secured a US$100 million two-year debt facility with HSBC Singapore, structured around its commission income — not just its balance sheet assets.
In this structure, Akulaku’s recurring commission earnings from loan origination and servicing are directed into an escrow account. These cash flows form the basis of debt repayment, effectively allowing the company to monetize future revenues.
This is a bold departure from standard fintech lending, which often depends on short-term working-capital facilities or venture debt. Akulaku’s approach means that debt obligations are directly tied to business performance — lowering funding risk, preserving equity ownership, and aligning lender confidence with real operating cash flow.
For emerging-market fintechs, this model is a powerful proof of concept: you don’t need a billion-dollar valuation to access structured debt, just strong governance, recurring cash flows, and data transparency.
Risk-Share Through Partnership: The Role of Neo-Banking
Another innovation lies in Akulaku’s ownership of Bank Neo Commerce (BNC) — a digital bank that gives the group control of its funding costs.
Through BNC, Akulaku has created a risk-sharing model: the bank originates, funds, and services parts of the loan portfolio while leveraging Akulaku’s proprietary data and credit scoring. This dual structure allows Akulaku to maintain its risk appetite, while BNC operates under regulated lending parameters — ensuring sustainability and compliance.
For BNC, the partnership brings a profitable, data-rich customer base. For Akulaku, it unlocks a reliable funding channel and allows the company to blend off-balance-sheet and on-balance-sheet lending — a hallmark of mature financial institutions.
Governance and Credit Control at Scale
One reason Akulaku has kept non-performing loan (NPL) ratios below 5-7% in a high-growth market is its disciplined portfolio monitoring governance.
Akulaku has built a sophisticated risk-governance structure combining:
Automated credit scoring based on behavioural and transaction data.
Monthly portfolio reviews between business, product, and risk teams.
Machine-learning models that are continuously retrained to identify early warning signs of delinquency.
This combination of governance and adaptive modelling has become a competitive advantage — enabling rapid growth with controlled risk.
Lessons for Other Fintechs
Akulaku’s evolution holds important lessons for other fintechs and platforms entering digital lending:
Monetize your data, not just your loans. Akulaku turned its commission and fee revenues into a funding asset, opening new capital channels.
Use partnerships for capital efficiency. By aligning with a regulated entity (BNC), Akulaku shared funding risk while keeping control of origination and data.
Embed governance early. Strong data governance and portfolio oversight aren’t bureaucratic add-ons — they make institutional lenders more willing to fund you.
Keep models transparent. Akulaku’s ability to explain its credit models to partners and regulators built long-term credibility.
What This Means for the Future
As digital lenders across Africa, the Pacific, and South Asia face similar funding challenges, Akulaku’s success demonstrates that sustainable fintech lending isn’t just about underwriting or UX — it’s about how you fund, monitor, and govern your lending model.
At Factfin, we help lenders achieve exactly this through our AI Innovation Lab — a structured environment where fintechs, mobile money operators, and banks can build and test transparent, data-driven credit frameworks. The Lab supports everything from model prototyping and governance design to portfolio monitoring dashboards that give executives confidence to scale.
The path forward for emerging-market fintechs isn’t just more data or capital — it’s smarter, structured innovation in how those two are connected.
