Bank Mandiri bets on startups to renew itself

Eddi Danusaputro has an unusual task for someone working inside a government-owned bank: looking for young entrepreneurs who might disrupt its business.

As the head of Mandiri Capital Indonesia, the venture capital arm of Bank Mandiri, the country’s largest bank by assets, Danusaputro and his team meet dozens of startup founders every month in search of cutting-edge financial technology. Only a handful of candidates pass the test.

On Wednesday, MCI announced its seventh investment since it began operations in early 2016 — Cashlez, which sells affordable point-of-sales systems to small businesses. The deal brought MCI’s total investment to around $22.5 million (£17 million).