Paolo Limcaoco

East Asia and Pacific

Indonesia

Access Usage Gap

Challenges and Crises

Credit

Customer Centricity

Delivery Channels

Digital Financial Services

Enabling Environment

Financial Health

Financial Service Providers

Fintechs

Human Touch

Impact Investing

MSME/SME Finance

Underserved Groups

Article

Press Release

MyRobin

In Indonesia, blue-collar workers — like couriers, warehouse staff, cleaners, and daily laborers — fill essential roles but are highly marginalized because they have informal positions, short-term contracts, incomplete work profiles, irregular and fully cash-based salary payments, and no opportunities to move up and upskill. All of this has led these workers to be excluded from accessing formal financial services. So, we are truly excited to now partner with <a href="https://myrobin.id/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MyRobin</a>, a digital platform that provides these blue-collar workers with improved opportunities and much-needed financial services, a goal aligned with Accion Venture Lab’s mission. <a href="https://www.accion.org/myrobin-id-workforce-as-a-service-marketplace-announces-close-of-pre-series-a-led-by-accion-venture-lab-sosv" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">As participants in MyRobin’s</a> pre-Series A round, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with founders Siddharth Kumar and Ardy Satria Hasanuddin, the team, and our co-investors to help the company reach and support blue-collar workers in Indonesia.

We invested in MyRobin because they:
<h4><strong>Serve and improve the lives of blue-collar workers in Indonesia</strong></h4>
The company <a href="https://www.bps.go.id/statictable/2009/04/16/970/penduduk-15-tahun-ke-atas-yang-bekerja-menurut-lapangan-pekerjaan-utama-1986---2020.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">estimates that there are at least 50 million blue-collar workers in Indonesia</a>, and this figure is expected to grow as demand for workers to fill roles from fast-growing industries of e-commerce, logistics, and others will continue to increase. However, despite being an integral part of these businesses, these workers normally find themselves outside of proper employment and the formal financial system. Most of them work part-time, lack employment certificates, receive less than $300 per month on average, and struggle to progress into higher-value roles.

MyRobin works to provide these workers with a better alternative. By addressing the various problems that these workers are facing, starting with employment, the company aims to play a role in uplifting the lives of these workers. From couriers to warehouse workers, kitchen staff to field personnel, a significant portion of the population depends on these roles for employment, and it is crucial to continue finding ways to support them.
<h4>Take a holistic approach to build their platform</h4>
MyRobin understood that uplifting the lives of these workers start with helping them secure their livelihood, so they intervene at the start of this process – the job search. Blue-collar workers find roles via informal means like social media and referrals. Given this, MyRobin focused on: (1) building a strong community where workers can support each other and refer jobs, (2) partnering with enterprises and sharing open positions, and (3) creating a seamless and fully digital application process. MyRobin has organized and streamlined the job-hunting process, allowing workers better chances at landing fair employment opportunities (MyRobin also vets the roles on their platform).

The company’s support does not stop here. After landing a role, workers have access to other benefits such as affordable motorbike leases, discounts on daily needs such as motor oil, ability to build a digital profile (their version of LinkedIn, which is useful for keeping track of work history for future applications), and trainings and upskilling programs. MyRobin also provides embedded financial services, starting with advance access to their earned salaries but with plans to expand further to other credit products and microinsurance. These features add tremendous value to the workers in both the present and the future. MyRobin has built a platform truly focused on serving the blue-collar worker needs, and it is only through this holistic approach that the company will be able to impact the lives of these workers and build long-term resilience.
<h4>Solve the pain points of enterprises by providing a fully digital solution</h4>
As open roles are a key value proposition of the platform, MyRobin partners with large enterprises that hire blue-collar workers. And for those partnerships to work, MyRobin knew that it was crucial that the company solved the pain points faced by those corporates. The company worked diligently to understand the issues faced, and the major pain points were clear: (1) hiring and managing workers at scale and (2) reducing worker turnover.

For this, MyRobin built an end-to-end digital solution for enterprises that allows them to hire pre-screened, quality blue-collar workers at scale and in under 24 to 36 hours. In addition, MyRobin provides a dashboard to help monitor and track these workers and handles the salary payments, significantly reducing management costs. Finally, MyRobin also decreased churn of the workers through the value-added services available on the platform. By solving these pain points, MyRobin has turned itself into a key partner of enterprises, which will allow them to continue sustainably providing holistic support to the blue-collar workers on their platform.
<h4>Shown impressive growth and execution despite the challenges of the pandemic</h4>
MyRobin launched their platform in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic with Siddharth (CEO) stuck in Singapore and Ardy (CTO) in Jakarta. As I had conversations with the company, the founders and team continued to demonstrate success as they built their business despite the challenges. MyRobin was able to develop the initial version of the platform, secure partnerships with key corporates including Shopee, Anteraja, Shipper, and others, and grow their blue-collar community to over two million members — all during the pandemic.

Ultimately, MyRobin has the opportunity to transform the lives of blue-collar workers in Indonesia by providing them providing fair employment opportunities, access to benefits such as a digital profile and upskilling programs, and much-needed financial services. We are excited to work with and support the company as they bring greater financial inclusion and resilience to these workers.

MyRobin is our fifth portfolio company in Southeast Asia and the second made during the pandemic, along with <a href="https://www.accion.org/building-resilience-in-southeast-asia-through-inclusive-fintechs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">our investment in Fairbanc</a>. We also recently <a href="https://www.techinasia.com/pintek-series-a-funding" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">followed on in the Series A</a> of <a href="https://www.accion.org/making-education-accessible-through-fintech" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">specialized education lender Pintek</a> in Indonesia while continuing to actively support <a href="https://www.accion.org/innovation-msme-finance-philippines" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">digital B2B SME lender First Circle</a> and <a href="https://advance.ph/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">earned-wage-access (EWA) platform Advance</a> in the Philippines. This is only the beginning of our work in the region, and we look forward to working with and supporting more innovative and impactful founders and startups that contribute to greater financial inclusion.

Improving the lives of blue-collar workers in Indonesia through a digital platform

<strong>Jakarta, Indonesia, 18 January 2022 </strong>– MyRobin.ID, a workforce-as-a-service marketplace in Indonesia, announced today that it has raised a pre-Series A round led by Accion Venture Lab and SOSV with participation from Investible, Khoo Investment, Seedstars, Vulpes Investment Management, Brightness Capital, Astor Management, and Bansea. Existing investor Antler also joined the round.

MyRobin’s platform aims to address the many issues that Indonesia’s blue-collar workers face in finding fair employment opportunities and accessing financial services. Blue-collar workers in this market are usually high-school graduates or diploma holders without any formal training. They are usually paid in cash and unable to access traditional financial services.

These workers typically lack access to laptops and CVs, barriers that make it challenging for companies to screen them for required job skills. Moreover, workers in this market do not use online employment platforms in their job searches, creating obstacles for companies that rely on Human Resources staff to source workers. MyRobin streamlines the hiring process by screening workers who register on the MyRobin app. Businesses are then able to immediately hire MyRobin-approved workers such as warehouse workers, packers, sorters, and couriers. MyRobin’s workforce management platform allows workers to digitally sign contracts, submit timesheets, and receive payments. MyRobin also offers embedded financial services such as early wage access, micro insurance, and “buy now, pay later” options that they would otherwise be unable to access through traditional financial service providers.

Launched in August 2020, MyRobin has more than 2.8 million workers in its network. Demand from businesses has been strong, resulting in a 27-fold increase in 2021 over 2020. More than 250 enterprises use their services, including Shopee, Lazada, Anteraja, and Shipper.

“We are excited to accelerate the expansion of our team and fuel growth,” said Siddharth Kumar, MyRobin co-founder, and CEO. “We are giving businesses the necessary flexibility to scale up manpower by thousands within a day, a crucial ability for companies that need to operate with more flexibility in this ‘new normal.’ We also give workers more than a paycheque, we give them peace of mind — they can earn and learn on the MyRobin platform by finding a job, then enjoying a suite of benefits and discounts to support their most basic needs.”

“In Indonesia’s fast-growing economy, millions of workers face barriers to steady and fair employment, which jeopardizes their financial security,” said Michael Schlein, President, and CEO of Accion. “In creating an inclusive, holistic platform that expands workers’ access to job opportunities, training, and financial services, MyRobin is building resilience for Indonesia’s workers and small businesses alike.”

“MyRobin has heralded a new era of work, an era when people can improve their relationship with work and take pride in the flexibility, independence, and security it offers. Having worked with the company since 2020, we’re proud to continue to offer our support as MyRobin goes on to build Indonesia’s future-proof workforce,” shares William Bao Bean, General Partner at SOSV, Managing Director of SOSV MOX.

“By providing a holistic suite of products and embedded financial services, MyRobin is changing the experience of blue-collar workers and increasing resilience through much needed financial support,” said Paolo Limcaoco, Principal at Accion Venture Lab. “We are excited at how MyRobin is redefining the nature of work for blue-collar workers and are looking forward to partnering with Sid, Ardy, and the team to expand their impact across more workers in Indonesia.”

###
<h3><strong>About MyRobin</strong></h3>
MyRobin provides Indonesian businesses with on-demand, pre-screened, blue-collar workers on a long and short-term basis in Indonesia. The platform tracks workers' daily attendance, performance, and all payments are processed via the MyRobin platform. MyRobin charges a management fee as a percentage on the total labour cost. MyRobin also provides worker benefits like Early Wage Access, micro-insurance, discounts on daily needs, and access to vocational training, to boost retention and productivity.
<h3><strong>About Accion Venture Lab</strong></h3>
Accion Venture Lab is a leading early-stage impact investor in inclusive fintech startups. We believe that affordable, well-designed financial services enable economic growth and prosperity for underserved populations in the world. Accion Venture Lab invests globally in the most innovative models and technologies delivering quality financial services to underserved households and small businesses with the potential to scale. Backed by commercial and impact investors since the launch of its third-party fund in 2019, Accion Venture Lab has invested in more than 55 early-stage startups that operate in 35 countries worldwide. Accion Venture Lab is a part of Accion, a global nonprofit committed to creating a financially inclusive world, with a pioneering legacy in microfinance and fintech impact investing. Accion catalyzes financial service providers to deliver high-quality, affordable solutions at scale for the three billion people who are left out of – or poorly served by – the financial sector. For 60 years, Accion has helped tens of millions of people through our work with more than 170 partners in 55 countries. For further information, visit accion.org/venturelab.
<h3><strong>About SOSV</strong></h3>
SOSV MOX is a deeply resourced startup development program for enterprise-tech and consumer-tech, with over 240 corporate partners and 100M consumers in its ecosystem. The program is a part of SOSV, a US venture capital fund with more than US$1 billion in assets under management and over 1120 portfolio companies as of October 2021. SOSV's internet portfolio includes crypto-product trading platform BitMEX, Google-backed AI English pronunciation assistant ELSA, Samsung-backed video publisher Flickstree, APAC’s online tutoring platform Snapask, and China's luxury brand management group Ushopal.

MyRobin.ID, workforce-as-a-service marketplace, announces close of pre-series A led by Accion Venture Lab & SOSV

MyRobin

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Improving the lives of blue-collar workers in Indonesia through a digital platform

MyRobin.ID, workforce-as-a-service marketplace, announces close of pre-series A led by Accion Venture Lab & SOSV