Funding safety

• 500-backed Impact Credit Solutions (ICS) and Indonesian fintech company Restock.ID have entered into a US$4 million credit facility. This partnership aims to finance inventory purchases by hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, retailers, and other participants in the healthcare supply chain.
• The facility is part of the Indonesian Resilience Fund managed by ICS, which offers affordable financing to the Indonesian healthcare sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• ICS’ lending technology will enable end-to-end lending, increase disbursement speed, and provide investors with real-time transparency on their loan book.
• “Partnering with purpose-driven fintechs like Restock.ID has made it possible to deliver the needed financing to the last mile delivery of medical supplies across Indonesia,” said Dewi Wiranti, Indonesia Country Head at ICS, “Now is the time to invest in cross-cutting enablers i.e. women-led businesses and healthcare workers, to ensure an inclusive recovery.”
• Read more here.

Driving a community

• In an op-ed piece on e27, co-founder and Group CEO of 500-backed Carsome Eric Cheng wrote about the importance of building a thriving community the startup works in.
• One of Carsome’s pandemic-related initiatives was launching its own vaccination drive for employees. It is also being extended to the startup’s partners such as suppliers, retailers, and customers.
• To help businesses along the supply chain, Carsome developed the Used Car Dealers Buy-Back Program. Under the program, the startup buys back cars bought from Carsome at the same price they were paid for. To date, the startup has repurchased cars from more than 10 dealers at a total value of about US$240,000.
• For fresh graduates, many need a car to commute to work. “The reality is that with no credit history, it is hard to get a loan approved by conventional banks,” Eric wrote. Carsome offers loans through its graduate auto-financing program to get a loan to purchase a Carsome Certified car.
• Read more about Carsome’s initiatives on e27 here.

Casting a network

• 500-backed investment network ANGIN has launched the Wirausaha Hijau Program, supported by the Ford Foundation and the Ministry of Home Affairs in Indonesia.
• The program aims to accelerate growth in early-stage Indonesian entrepreneurs by increasing access to investment and one-on-one mentorship with industry experts.
• Selected participants will get access to funding, structured mentorship from experts and practitioners, as well as access to partnership networks.
• The program is targeting entrepreneurs who are past the proof-of-concept stage and have innovative solutions to solve challenges in agriculture, agroforestry, and food systems.
• Get more details on the program page here (in Bahasa Indonesia).