With AI-powered job matching and accessible financial services, the platform aims to become a super app for informal workers
Tackling Job Access and Financial Inclusion
Pintarnya, an Indonesian startup founded in 2022, has raised $16.7 million in Series A funding to scale its mission of empowering blue-collar and informal workers through job access and responsible financial services. The round was led by Square Peg, with participation from Vertex Ventures and East Ventures.
- The platform goes beyond job matching by integrating lending, income generation, and e-learning, tailored to the needs of workers typically excluded from formal financial systems.
- Co-founders Ghirish Pokardas, Nelly Nurmalasari, and Henry Hendrawan launched Pintarnya to solve two major pain points: earning enough income and borrowing safely.
The Informal Workforce: A Massive, Underserved Market
Roughly 59% of Indonesia’s 150 million workers are part of the informal sector, often without the documentation needed for bank loans or digital credit services.
- Pintarnya’s users are primarily 21–40-year-olds with high school diplomas or below, representing a segment ignored by most white-collar job platforms.
- Competing platforms like JobStreet, Glints, and Kalibrr largely serve educated, office-based workers, leaving a gap in services for blue-collar job seekers.
AI-Powered Hiring Meets Responsible Lending
Pintarnya uses AI to digitize job matching, speeding up the hiring process for employers and helping candidates find relevant full-time or gig opportunities.
- It provides quick-apply features, walk-in interview scheduling, and in-app e-learning to improve employability.
- On the financial side, Pintarnya partners with asset-backed lenders to offer secured loans, accepting gold, electronics, or vehicles as collateral — a safer alternative to predatory lenders.
Lending First, With Bigger Financial Goals Ahead
Lending remains the most in-demand service, especially given the unpredictable income streams of informal workers. But the vision doesn’t stop there.
- The team plans to “graduate” users from borrowing to micro-savings and investments, gradually improving financial stability.
- By collaborating with strategic partners, Pintarnya aims to offer a full spectrum of financial services built for the realities of its users.
Surging Growth and Future Expansion
Since its launch, Pintarnya has:
- Reached 10 million job-seeker users and 40,000 employers across Indonesia.
- Achieved nearly 5x revenue growth year-over-year.
- Positioned itself to break even by year-end, a milestone that signals operational maturity.
With an eye on Southeast Asia, the founders are open to regional expansion as the model proves scalable.
A Vision Beyond Employment
The company aims to become the go-to super app for workers, combining income generation, skill-building, and financial support into one accessible platform.
“We want to be the first stop when someone is looking for work, a place that helps them upgrade their skills, and a reliable guide as they make financial decisions,” said co-founder Henry Hendrawan.
