Dana Raises $250M to Expand Digital Wallet Use

Indonesian digital wallet company Dana is looking to expand after raising $250 million from local firm Sinar Mas and Alibaba’s Lazada Group.

Dana CEO Vince Iswara said the company wants to invest in new technology and debut new financial services, Bloomberg reported Wednesday (Aug. 10).

“We are going to keep investing in our technology, which has been our greatest strength and one of the biggest drivers of our growth and for financial services,” Iswara said, per the report.

Dana, partially owned by Chinese FinTech Ant Group, is aiming to offer lending, insurance and wealth management as part of its expanded offerings, Iswara told Bloomberg.

“We learn a lot from one of our investors,” he added in the report.

The investment strengthens Dana’s ties with Alibaba, which owns one-third of Ant Group, which has been expanding across Southeast Asia, according to the report.

In April, Ant Group launched a partnership with global payments platform 2C2P to advance digital payments in that region. The deal makes Ant Group a majority shareholder of 2C2P and connects 2C2P’s merchants, which include global and regional brands, with Alipay+, adding to its offering of 250 payment options to include more eWallets and local payment methods.

Read more: 2C2P Teams With Ant Group to Advance Digital Payments in Southeast Asia

“Digital payment adoption has accelerated rapidly in recent years, spurred by the pandemic, with mobile wallet payments widely gaining momentum across Asia,” said 2C2P Founder and CEO Aung Kyaw Moe at the time. “Through this complementary partnership with Ant Group, 2C2P will be connected to a much larger merchant base and be well-positioned to advance our international expansion strategy. I am confident that 2C2P will be able to scale new heights, and build an unparalleled and robust range of payment solutions that will deliver maximum value and impact to our merchants and partners.”